From Here to the Black
by Carrie7
Summary: Bridget Li has issues: she hasn't had a place to call home in over 3 years and she just quit another job in search of something new.To get off world, she hitches a ride on Serenity,a place she never dreamed would become home.After Objects in Space.JayneOC
1. Ep 15: Moving On part 1

**Disclaimer**: _The only thing I own are the characters and places I've made up. All hail the mighty and powerful Joss Whedon. Also, I know I've included the theme song. I didn't write it, but I love it to death, please please please don't sue me._

**Author's note**: _This takes place between Objects in Space and Serenity: the movie and the entries are meant to flow as episodes. Said episodes will usually be chopped up into different parts so that it's easier to read (instead of one big long chunk.) I'll be posting the episodes one at a time in the same document so you don't have to go searching all over for the next one. _

_Also, I used a few different websites for most of my research about the ship's layout, planets, currency and what have you. My apologies if it isn't 100 percent accurate, you know how it goes. As for the Mandarin, you can look it up on your own because, like the show, most of the Chinese dialogue doesn't necessarily need to be translated. Reviews are welcomed and desired._

_-Carrie_

It wasn't what you'd call a nice place, this pub. None so bad as they'd been in before, but it weren't nothin' to brag about. If there was one thing to be said, there were enough gorram lowlifes in the place to make your average man a mite anxious, that's for damn sure.

Despite the less than pleasant company, the crew of Serenity was just glad to be paid and glad to have some real food in their bellies.

"That's how I like a job to go; nice and smooth-like," Mal said as he relaxed into his chair. "No fightin', nobody gettin hurt."

"Nah, that's half the fun," said Jayne with a toothy grin.

"I seem to remember a certain member of my crew whinin' and carryin' on about a bullet hole in the thigh not too long ago," Mal said sternly. "Weren't very fun then, was it?"

"I don't whine," Jayne growled under his breath. Zoë glanced over at him and raised a very skeptical eyebrow. "I don't!"

"You complain more'n anyone else on that boat, and you know it," Zoë said.

"Well, you get shot in the gorram leg an' tell me how you fair against it!" Jayne said defensively.

"I've been shot plenty. It ain't a rosy affair, but it ain't nothin' to be cryin' over," she said.

"Hey!" barked the captain. "Let's try and enjoy this, _dong ma_? How often do we get a job goes as easily as this one?"

"The cap'n's right. Let's not argue anymore," said Kaylee with a sweet smile. To further quiet down the squabbling bunch, the waitress had returned.

"There anythin' else I can get for ya tonight?" she asked politely. She had a very pretty Asian-looking face with black hair done up into a bun, held fast with decorative chopsticks. She was thin and tall, prolly somewhere in the neighborhood of 5'9".

"Nah, I think we're about ready for the bill," said Mal with a gracious nod.

"Alright, I've got to wait on a few more tables, but I'll have that bill to ya in no time at all," she said with a little smile.

"_Xièxie,_" Mal said. Jayne gave a short little whistle after the waitress was outta earshot.

"_Jing cai_," he said, inspecting the waitress's hind quarters. "Ya don't see _that_ sittin' on a boat fer weeks on end…"

"I beg to differ," Wash said, looking fondly at his wife. Zoë gave him an affectionate smile.

"You know what I mean," Jayne growled, glaring at Wash. As soon as he went back to admiring the waitress, he noticed something a little off color. "Hey, Mal," he said, not taking his eyes off the scene unfolding in front of him. Mal directed his attention to the table the waitress was currently at. Every single one of the greasy _qing wa cao de liu mang_s was drunk off their asses and lookin' to try something stupid. One of them was leaning in close to the waitress, and he weren't starin' intently at her face. In a flash, he took hold of her arm and pulled her down into his lap. She struggled against him and cried out, but he held her there.

Without even giving it a thought, Jayne was on his feet, thundering towards the ensuing chaos. He ripped the girl out of the man's grasp and grabbed the greasy low-life by his stubbly throat and cracked him 'cross the jaw. He fell back in his chair.

"You oughta consider growin' a few manners," Jayne told him. "I don't take kindly to men that torment pretty girls. 'Fact, 'kindly' don't really describe me at all." He looked briefly over at the girl he just saved from God knows what. She was just standing there, tremblin' something fierce, eyes wide and mouth open. "You may wanna get outta here, this's gonna get ugly," he warned her. And he was right. All of the scum's friends were on their feet. With guns.

"Thank you," breathed the girl before running away.

"And this was goin' so smooth…," Mal groaned as he and the rest of his crew readied themselves for yet another bar fight.

That was the last damn straw. She was so sick of that gorram piss-poor bar that she couldn't see straight. Sure, the money was decent, but there's only so much a body can take before they're forced onward to better things.

"I quit," Bridget barked at her current boss.

"Oh, come on, now, Bridge, it ain't like anything came of it," said Fuller.

"It don't matter. I'm gone, that's all there is to it. Thank you fer lettin' me work here, but I'm movin' on," Bridget told him as she threw her large bag full of her personal effects over her shoulder. She untied her apron and tossed it aside.

"How're you gonna pick up yer check next week?" he asked.

"Keep it, I don't care," Bridget growled as she strode past him. "You don't pay me enough anyway." She tip toed through the debris left by the brawl that'd ended only twenty minutes ago. On the way out she gave an over-turned table a good kick.

Once outside, Bridget took a deep breath of dry, dusty air. She was finally free of brawls, gunfights and men with bad intentions. She turned her gaze upward and could see the first few stars emerging in the failing light. No matter where she was or what mess she'd gotten herself into, at least she had the sky, and with it, the promise of a fresh start. She heaved the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and set off to find some way of getting off that shit-hole of a moon.

_Take my love, take my land_  
_Take me where I cannot stand_  
_I don't care, I'm still free_  
_You can't take the sky from me_  
_Take me out to the black_   
_Tell them I ain't comin' back_  
_Burn the land and boil the sea_  
_You can't take the sky from me_   
_There's no place I can be_  
_Since I found Serenity_   
_But you can't take the sky from me..._

_Episode 15_

_Moving On_

The fight Jayne had started up in the pub had sorely dampened Mal's spirits. He was hoping for a clean job and a clean get-away. Unfortunately, things had a knack of goin' at least a little wrong for him, not matter what the circumstance.

"Aw, lighten up, Cap," Jayne said as they walked and/or limped back to the crappy motel they were staying at. "It ain't like anyone really got hurt…"

"Speak for yourself," Simon said indignantly, glaring at Jayne through a puffy black eye.

"You call that hurt?" Jayne scoffed. He and the good doctor had never really gotten along and Jayne couldn't resist the opportunity to mildly humiliate him.

"Personally, I call a twisted ankle hurt," Wash grumbled as he gimped along with the help of his wife.

"You fell over a chair, Wash," Simon reminded him. "I got punched in the eye."

"Look, no more bar fights if we can help it, alright?" Mal said in an irritated voice. "We'd be in a heap of trouble if we got ourselves arrested."

"But we wasn't arrested," Jayne said.

"Yeah, this time," Mal said. "I don't much feel like stayin' here much longer. We'll stock up Serenity, get a couple a new fuel cells and head for the black as soon as possible."

The problem of getting off solid ground, Bridget soon found out, was that she had no idea where she wanted to go, which made it hard to figure out which ship in the landing yard she wanted to hitch a ride on. It really didn't matter too much, she just didn't want to end up on an alliance ship. She crept around the looming shadows, trying to discern their make and model in the dark. If there was one thing Bridget hadn't the foggiest about, it was space ships. On a good day, she couldn't tell a transport vessel from a war ship. There was only one ship in the yard that she could classify by just looking at it: a Firefly.

"Alright, let's get shopping. We ain't stoppin' for a while yet, so if you need any clothes, toiletries or any other personal effects, I'd pick them up now," Mal advised, squinting against the harsh sunlight the next day. "Kaylee, I want you to purchase us some fuel and have her prepped and ready to go by this afternoon."

"Can do, sir," she said with a nod.

"Zoë and Wash, you two can get us some proper food to stock our pantries with. I don't want to have anything made'a protein powder for at least another week, shiny?"

"I can't wait for real food…C'mon, hun," Wash said, taking Zoë by the hand and dragging her away towards the market.

"The rest of you, get what you need. We're getting off this rock by thirteen hundred, so be on time," said Mal.

"Well it ain't like you'd leave without us," Jayne said.

"Well it ain't like I wanna stay here any longer than I got to, thanks to your gorram shenanigans in that bar," Mal shot back. "Be on time, Jayne." Jayne grumbled something and went on his merry. Simon and River went together, Shepherd Book set off to visit a few friends at the local monastery and Inara had previous engagements on Adrastea, the planet to which the moon they were on belonged. Mal sent her a message telling her the time and place of the rendezvous between Serenity and her shuttle. If all went according to plan, they'd be outta there within three hours.

Despite the dusty, lonesome nature of Ida (which was what this particular moon was called), the market place was another story entirely. The whole place was loud and mostly friendly with people bustlin' to and fro, exchanging all different kinds of currency for various items.

"Look, Simon," River said as she gravitated towards a booth with colorful articles of clothing. "I like the blue one," she said pulling a flowing dress of brilliant blue from one of the racks. She put the hanger up over her head so that the dress hung on her as if she were wearing it. The hem of the dress reached mid calf and it looked as though it would fit.

"It's beautiful, _Mei Mei_," her brother agreed, only able to see out his left eye, as his right was completely swolled shut from the night before. "Let's buy it."

"Can we?" she asked with a smile.

"Consider it an early birthday present," he said as she handed him the dress. He took the garment and paid for it. The vendor folded it carefully and wrapped it in pink tissue paper. She put the dress into what looked like a box she'd made herself with thin cardboard.

"_Xièxie_," Simon said as he and River left with their purchase.

"Wash, baby…there's not a one of us knows how to cook a turkey," Zoë said skeptically as her husband clutched the frozen bird.

"We can figure it out," he protested. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on, Zoe, be optimistic! I'm sure we've got a cook book someplace…" Zoë shook her head and turned to continue shopping. "Well, I want turkey! I'm gonna buy it, and I'm gonna cook it!" Wash called after her stubbornly.

"Whatever you say," Zoë sighed as she examined a loaf of bread.

"It'll be the best damn turkey you've ever tasted, too," Wash said with a grin and a nod.

"I'm sure it will be," she said with a shadow of a smile. She put three loaves of bread into their basket, along with Wash's turkey. "When was the last time we had real food on that ship?"

"Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 'I can't remember'," Wash said as he prodded some fresh apples.

"Don't poke them, you'll bruise 'em all up," said Zoë. She picked up an apple. "You just squeeze them a little bit. Make sure they're nice and firm." This remark sent unmentionable thoughts into Wash's head.

"You're very…_skillful_ in judging produce," he said with a grin.

"I only eat the best fruit," she told him with a coy little smile.

"I see," said Wash. The two of them exchanged a quick kiss before carrying on with their shopping.

It had been hours and hours and one hell of a cold night's sleep. Bridget sat there, leaned against one of the Firefly's front landing legs, feeling groggy and cold, not to mention she had a raging headache. She hoped that the Firefly's crew returned sometime soon. One more night outside sounded none too appealing to her.

Another hour slipped past. The suns were beginning to set and Bridget was starting to get frustrated. If these people weren't back soon, she would get up and go try and hitchhike on someone else's boat. After all, who knows how long they were planning on staying? She gazed out into the sky. The massive form of Adrastea was getting clearer as the suns went down. Why couldn't she have ended up on the main planet instead of one of it's lousy, desert moons? Adrastea looked so clean and fresh with it's brilliant blue oceans and lush, green landforms. She'd heard talk of how pretty it was down there, how everyone was rich and there wasn't a desert to be found on the whole damn thing.

Her musings were suddenly interrupted by the sound of friendly chatter. She removed her gaze from the planet and looked over to where the noise was coming from. A large group of people, she counted eight in all, were making a beeline for the ship. Perhaps this was its crew. Just to be sure, she hesitated where she was until they got closer.

"Can I help you?" asked the man in front.

"Uh, well, maybe," she said, hoisting herself to her feet and knocking the dust off her pants and jacket. She threw her bag over one shoulder. As the man got closer, he seemed very familiar. In fact, the whole group of people seemed familiar, save one or two of them. "I was wonderin' if you were takin' on passengers."

"Weren't exactly planning on it," he said. "Where're you going?"

"Anywhere that ain't here," she said.

"Hold on a sec, Cap," said the big guy in the back. "That's the waitress, the one we saved from them guys was tryin' to fondle her up." _That's where I've seen them, _thought Bridget. The captain stared at her for half a second.

"I thought you looked familiar," he said. "Can't blame you for wanting to get outta this place."

"Yeah, I quit and now I gotta find someone that can give me a ride off this rock," she said. "I wouldn't make no trouble for you or your crew and I'll stay out of your way. I'm even prepared to earn my keep."

"Why? Dontcha have any coin on you to pay your way?" he asked.

"All I got to my name is two platinum. If I give 'em over, I won't have nothin' when I get to where I'm going," Bridget said, hoping this little setback wouldn't cost her a ride. The Captain looked as if he were thinking the situation over.

"Alright, in that case, what can you do that's relevant to boat life?" he asked.

"I can cook," she said. "I'm a real good cook."

"Well, miss, you're in luck. Our _gou shi_ for brains pilot just bought us an expensive turkey don't none of us know how to prepare," he said. "And as long as you aim to behave and don't cause me no strife, I'll let you tag along."

"Thank you, sir," said Bridget.

"And before I let you aboard, I gotta warn you, our business ain't the most legal of trades. If you rat us out or do anything to hinder me in any way, I'll throw you off this boat. Shiny?"

"Yes sir," she said. "I won't cause you no trouble, I swear it."

"Good. See to it you don't," he said. "My name's Malcolm Reynolds, mostly I go by Mal. I'm the captain of this here Firefly. Her name's Serenity, and you're not to make no jokes or comments about her condition."

"I wasn't gonna, sir," said Bridget, wondering if she really wanted to be on a ship for god knows how long with this Malcolm Reynolds guy.

"This is my first mate, Zoë, her husband Wash, who's the pilot. Kaylee's my mechanic and Shepherd Book's our preacher. And Jayne…well, Jayne just likes to shoot stuff."

"Damn right I do," said Jayne, patting the pistol at his side.

"This is Simon, our doctor and his sister, River," he said. "We got one more of our crew to pick up near Adrastea, so we've got to get a move on."

"Do you need help loading things up?" she asked.

"Not for now, but I'll remember to ask you when we do," said Mal. Mal opened up the door in the center of the outer lock door by way of a code he punched into a key pad outside. The nine of them climbed into the airlock chamber. With a push of a button, Mal opened the innerlock doors of the airlock. They stepped into the cargo bay and Bridget looked around the spacious interior. It was dim, dingy and industrial looking but held far more promise than anything on Ida could offer her.

"Shepherd, would you mind getting a place ready for her to sleep in the passenger quarters?" asked Mal.

"I'd be glad to," responded the preacher, walking off into another area of the ship to do so.

"Sorry, I forgot to ask your name," said Mal.

"It's Bridget. Bridget Li," she said. Mal gave her a funny look.

"That your real name?" he asked. She gave him a confused stare.

"'Course it is…why?" she asked.

"Oh, there was this woman I knew a while back, went by Bridget occasionally…she was a little _kuang zhe de_. I'd actually rather not talk about it," he said.

"I see…," said Bridget still a little confused.

"Well, there's work to be done, crew members to pick up, and turkey to cook," said Mal. "Kaylee, could you give Bridget a quick tour so she knows her way around?"

"Sure thing," said Kaylee brightly. "C'mon," she said to Bridget. She followed Kaylee up two flights of stairs. "That way's the bridge and our quarters," said Kaylee pointing to the right. "And over here's the kitchen," she said taking a left. Bridget found herself standing in the middle of a very homey looking dining area. The whole kitchen was painted in a warm yellow with red flowers.

"I painted them flowers myself," said Kaylee proudly. She lead Bridget down another corridor. "These stairs go down to the common room and then down by the infirmary and the passenger bunks," she said, pointing to the stairwell to the left. "And this here," she said stepping through an opening at the end of the corridor, "is my favorite place, the engine room. I spend most my time in here makin' sure everything's runnin' proper." Bridget nodded as she looked around at the dingy interior made more pleasant by the presence of a brightly colored hammock in the corner closest to the door. "Maybe I should show ya where you'll be sleepin'," she said with a smile. They took the stairwell that Kaylee pointed out only seconds earlier. When they reached the bottom, they stopped off at a room full of chairs and sofas. A coffee table was in the middle of the room. "This here's the common room where we do a lot of socializin' if we ain't hangin' about in the kitchen."

"Looks comfy," said Bridget.

"It is that, all right," said Kaylee with a smile and a nod. Then she pointed to a brightly lit room with windows on all sides. "That's the med bay, where Simon works if one of us is hurt."

"Does that happen often?" asked Bridget.

"Well, not _too_ often, but it has a tendency of occurin'," Kaylee said. That last remark worried Bridget a little. After all, the captain had mentioned how their occupation wasn't the most legal. "Then down that way is the Cargo bay, but you seen that already," she said pointing to the left. "And this where you'll be stayin'," she said as she took a right past the infirmary. The rooms looked very Asian influenced with their rice paper sliding doors. "This one's Simons, that's River's, and here's Book's."

"Already given her the tour, Kaylee?" asked the deep voice of Shepherd Book as he peaked out of the room next to Simon's.

"Sure have," she answered.

"I've almost got the bed made up for you," he told Bridget. "You can set your things down in here."

"Well, it ain't much," said Bridget dropping her bag to the floor. "But it's all I got."

"Professional transient?" he asked with a smile.

"Something like that," she said. She looked around the room and was impressed. "I've not slept in a room as nice or clean in a long time."

"No?" asked Book. Bridget shook her head.

"One thing 'bout moving around all the time, you're more'n a little poor and you're thankful when you get to sleep in a bed at all," she said.

"What a life," Book said.

"Yeah…Well, preacher, I got a turkey to cook for my first chore as a passenger. Turkey's take the better part of an evening in an oven."

"I'm looking forward to dinner," he said. Bridget turned to leave and gasped in surprise. The girl, River was standing directly in the doorway, staring right into Bridget's eyes.

"Listen…," she whispered. Bridget listened for a moment but didn't hear anything. "The storm's let up," she said simply.

"Er…," Bridget stammered, confused. "Sorry?"

"River, why don't you let Bridget get up to the kitchen so she can fix us a real dinner?" Book suggested. River slowly stood aside. Bridget walked past her, trying not to let her face give away how uncomfortable she really was.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore!" River called after her. Bridget quickened her pace past the infirmary and up the stairs to the kitchen. What was with that girl? The way she stared at Bridget…like she could see into her very soul…it was unnerving.

"Oh, good, the cook's here," said Wash, the pilot. "Here's the bird," he said, taking it out of the paper bag and setting it on the counter. "It's been thawing out for the last few hours, but I dunno if that's long enough."

"Bird this big, I'd say no. But we'll work with what we got," Bridget told him. "Got a pan I can put this in?"

"That cabinet right next to you has all sorts of pots and pans in it," said Wash. "I also got a bag of potatoes and some carrots and onions…thought I might stuff it, but I wasn't sure how exactly I was gonna do it," he said with an almost confused face.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a reassuring smile. "Dinner'll be ready at six-ish."

"Six-ish. Got it," said Wash. "Well, I better go do that flying thing I do."

"Guess you should," she said. Wash gave her a grin and left her in the kitchen with bags and bags of groceries. She watched him head straight down the hall and up a little flight of stairs to the cockpit. _Interesting guy_, she thought to herself as she went through the bags of food. She put what needed to be in the refrigerator in the refrigerator and found where most of the pantry-related items went. Once everything was put in its proper place, she got ready to do what she was best at: cooking a damn good meal.

"How was business this morning?" Mal asked Inara as soon as she descended the stairs from the starboard shuttle.

"Just fine," she said. "And how was shopping?"

"Went off without a hitch," he said with a short little smile. "We got a new passenger aboard."

"Do we?" she asked.

"Sure do. Name's Bridget. She cooks, apearently," he said.

"Apearently?" she asked, arching a perfectly penciled eyebrow.

"She's cooking us a turkey dinner," he said.

"Ah," said Inara with a little nod. "Hopefully we won't all drop dead after dinner."

"I highly doubt she means us any harm," said Mal sternly.

"Well, Mal, can't say that you've ever been a spectacular judge of character," Inara said, walking past him.

"Why don't you go into the kitchen and check for yourself, then?" Mal shot back, his voice irritated.

"Perhaps I will," she said coolly. Inara headed downstairs into the kitchen. Inside, there was a nice looking girl of about twenty-three. Her features were obviously of Chinese descent and she was peeling potatoes with amazing speed. Inara watched her put each peeled root into a big pot of water.

"Hello," Inara said gently. Bridget jumped at the sudden noise and dropped her knife. Inara winced slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Oh, you didn't…just got surprised…," said Bridget retrieving the knife from the floor. She looked over at the source of the voice and was mildly shocked at what she saw. This woman was no doubt a companion. Her clothes were beautiful and expensive. Her make up and hair were flawless. Bridget had never met a real companion and wasn't sure what to say to someone of such social standing.

"I see Mal's finally hired a cook," said the companion as Bridget began peeling potatoes agian.

"Er, well, not hired, really, I'm just hitchhiking," Bridget answered. "I'm just earnin' my keep."

"I'm sure he's pleased with that," said Inara. "How rude of me, I never introduced myself. I'm Inara Serra."

"Bridget Li," she responded. "You're a companion, aren't you?"

"I am," said Inara with a smile.

"What a glamorous lifestyle," said Bridget, a little envious.

"It certainly can be," she answered.

"I'd never be able to do what you do. I'm in no way beautiful or seductive," said Bridget.

"Nonsense! I think you're very pretty," said Inara.

"I ain't nothin' special. 'Sides, I'm no good at talking to men, much less makin' 'em sweat," Bridget said with a little smirk.

"You just haven't found the right one yet," Inara soothed.

"If there's a 'one' out there. I dunno if I quite believe in the idea," Bridget confessed. "Men're pigs anyhow."

"Yes, that's true in most cases," said Inara. "But sometimes prince charming isn't who you thought he'd be."

"Speaking from personal experience?" asked Bridget.

"Sometimes I wonder," said Inara vaguely. "Well, perhaps I should leave you to your cooking. I have some business to attend to in my shuttle."

"Alright, well, it was sure nice meeting you," said Bridget.

"Likewise," Inara said as she drifted delicately from the kitchen, her uncertainties about the new passenger completely gone.

"Sure met a lot of interesting people today…," Bridget muttered with a little grin. She piled the rest of the peeled potatoes into the pot and turned up the burner.


	2. Ep 15: Moving On part 2

Episode 15

_**Moving On**_

continued….

"Hey, Wash?" Bridget said gingerly as she peeked into the cockpit a few hours later. The pilot had been reclining in his chair at the controls.

"Yes?" he asked, turning in his chair.

"Dinner's done," she replied. "I dunno where the rest of everyone is, and I don't feel much like snoopin' about for 'em on my first day, so…"

"Worry not, little miss, I've got it all under control," he said. He flicked a switch and took down a hand held p.a. "All members of Serenity's crew, please drop what you're doing and get your asses up to the kitchen for dinner." He flicked the switch off and hung the p.a. in its rightful place. He got up from his seat and gave her a little grin.

"Thanks," she said. Bridget lead the pilot into the kitchen where the table was set and the food was ready to eat. There was the turkey, carved and ready to dig into, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed vegetables.

"_Wo de ma_, I've died and gone to heaven," said Wash as he almost visibly salivated over the spread. The other crew-members filtered in and were equally amazed. Without a minute's hesitation, the ten of them sat down and dug in.

"Can we keep her, Mal?" joked Wash through a full mouth.

"Yeah, can we?" asked Kaylee.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Mal. "No offence meant."

"No offence taken," said Bridget.

"Not to say we don't really, really need a cook," Zoë interjected.

"Which we've done just fine without this whole time," Mal reminded them.

"If you call Simon's crotch soup 'fine'," Jayne muttered. Simon glared at him.

"Can't blame me for trying," he said.

"And failin'," Jayne shot back.

"I have to say this is extraordinary," said the Shepherd ignoring the bickering. "I haven't had a meal like this since my mother did the cooking."

"I'll have to second that," Jayne said through some turkey and mashed potatoes.

"See, dear, aren't you glad I bought that bird?" asked Wash, seeking compliments from his wife.

"We'da been out a perfectly good turkey if Bridget hadn't come along," Zoë said. "But you done good." Bridget's cheeks had gone very pink from all the praise she'd received over dinner. "So, where're you from?" Zoë asked.

"Originally, from the poorer district of Persephone," Bridget answered. "But I've been travellin' around the 'verse, working as I go. The city's a little too stuffy for me."

"How long have you been traveling?" asked Inara.

"'Bout the last three years," Bridget answered. "It ain't so bad when you get used to it."

"And you left just 'cause you don't like the city?" asked Mal.

"Not entirely. My folks died a while back and I've been trying to find a place what can feel like home again," she explained. "So far, no luck."

"Let us hope that your journey ends soon," Book said with a small smile. Everyone seemed satisfied with Bridget's answers to their questions. She was a mite relieved when the conversation shifted to humorous stories and the like. Bridget offered a few smiles and chuckles, but for the most part, she felt more lonesome than when she had no one to talk to. All these folks knew each other, it was like a family. One big family Bridget weren't a part of.

After everyone got there fill and felt the post-big-meal sleepies comin' on, they got up and trickled out, one or two at a time.

"Need help with the dishes?" asked Kaylee.

"Nah, I got it," Bridget said with a smile.

"Alright then. I'm right down this hall if ya got any questions or needs," she said, heading for her hammock in the engine room. Bridget sighed, satisfied with the meal everyone consumed and enjoyed. She picked up all the dishes from the table and set them near the sink and started to scrub.

In a half an hour's time, she was nearly done. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of anyone since dinner and the silence was starting to get to her.

"'Ey," grunted a male voice from the door. She looked up and saw the large burly frame of Jayne, the man who'd saved her from the thugs at the bar.

"Hi," she answered.

"It was a real nice dinner," he mumbled, not making eye contact with her.

"Thanks," Bridget replied, going back to scrubbing off the pan she'd cooked the turkey in. There was an uneasy silence for a moment.

"I jus' wanted to say that I'm…well, a little ashamed'a what happened last night in the pub. Fights like that seem to follow us around…come to think, I'm usually the one who starts 'em…," he said awkwardly. Bridget could tell he wasn't the type to do much apologizing and that this was hard for him to come out and say. "And usually I ain't ashamed of knockin' bad folk around, but there was some shootin' this time, and I guess I'm just glad you ain't hurt."

"Don't be sorry, was you that saved me from only god-knows-what," Bridget said.

"I punched him good for ya, though," said Jayne with a smirk. "That _wang ba dan_ should never'a touched you like that."

"No, he shouldn't've," Bridget agreed. "Thanks for nearly knockin' his head clean off," she said with a little chuckle and a hint of sarcasm.

"Hey, I look for excuses, most times," he said with a grin. "Jus' can't help myself." Bridget chuckled a bit. "Well, I…I guess I'll leave you to them dishes…jus' wanted t'…ta apologize…I guess…"

"Apology excepted an' appreciated," Bridget said.

"Yeah…well, I'ma…I'ma go shine my guns…or somethin'," he said, his voice trailing off. Without so much as a 'goodbye,' Jayne left the kitchen doorway. _Not the brightest star in the 'verse,_ Bridget thought to herself. _Prolly got muscles for brains._

Just outside in the hall, Mal eavesdropped on the tail end of their awkward little conversation. "Why, Jayne, didn't know you had it in you t' be a halfway decent individual," said Mal sarcastically as Jayne exited the kitchen. Jayne jumped at the captain's sudden presence.

"Gorramit, Cap, why you gotta sneak up on me like that?" growled Jayne angrily.

"Why you bein' so nice to this girl, huh? The Jayne I know only has a mind to be sexed up and leaves all courtesy behind him," said Mal in a lowered voice. "In fact, if memory serves me, you were thinkin' of that very thing when you first saw her. Ain't that right?"

"Well…it…it _was_, Cap'n, but…I dunno, just watchin' her get takin' advantage of really got me ragin'. Couldn't tell ya what for," Jayne stammered sheepishly. "I ain't never got this stupid 'bout no girl. Not never."

"Well, good luck getting' her to reciprocate those feelings of yours," said Mal.

"'Sat s'posed to mean?" asked Jayne, genuinely confused.

"Lets just say you're better at womanizin' than you are at actually startin' up a healthy relationship," said Mal.

"I never once womanized," Jayne said defensively. The Captain gave him a very skeptical look. "I haven't! Any girl that's ever sexed me up started it her own damn self. I just played along, and that ain't womanizin'."

"Hate to say it, but she ain't stayin' for too much longer anyway, so you better get any thoughts you have gone before she ain't here anymore," said Mal.

"You really gonna kick her off?" asked Jayne.

"I never aimed to keep her here," said Mal with a shrug.

"You never aimed t' keep Simon and his crazy sister here neither, but they're part of the ruttin' crew now!" Jayne pointed out.

"Simon has valuable attributes we can't do without," said Mal.

"Whaddya call that dinner tonight?" Jayne said indignantly.

"Damn good food. But we've been livin' just fine off what we been havin'. We're not gonna die if Bridget ain't here. If Simon weren't here, almost half my crew'd be dead 'n' buried," Mal said. "I don't want you trying to tell me what's best for us on this boat. We've talked about this a few times, I don't want to talk about it again." Jayne muttered something that sounded sorta like 'Yessir.' "Good. I gotta go figure some stuff out about this next job. Behave yerself, _dong ma_? Don't do nothin' you'll regret." Jayne gave a little nod and decided to spend the rest of the night in his bunk with Vera and his polishing rag.

Down in the passenger bunks, Bridget went through her bag so that she could put her things away around the room. Inside was only three more changes of clothes, a water bottle, tooth brush and toothpaste, a hair brush, her two platinum bills lying crumpled at the bottom, and a picture of her family. Bridget sighed.

"The 'verse ain't the same place without you," she said sadly to the photo. She propped it up on the bedside table against the lamp. She refolded what little clothes she had and put them away in the little dresser on the other side of the room. She was done in less than five minutes and decided that this was as good a time as any to get to sleep. Bridget crawled into the bed that the Shepherd had made for her and shut off the light, glad that at least she was amongst friendly people and that she had a warm place to sleep that night.

In the morning, the crew awoke slowly not to alarm clocks or of their own accord, but because of the faint, but distinctive, smells of breakfast.

"I'll be damned, she's done it again," Wash said as he and Zoë entered the kitchen where Bridget had just slid the last two pieces of French toast onto a plate with the rest. Aside from the entrée, there were scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon enough for ten.

"Well, ain't this a pleasant surprise to wake up to," said Mal as he pulled up a chair at the table.

"Better eat it before it gets cold," Bridget told them with a cheerful smile as she sat down herself. The rest of the crew trickled in, last of all was Jayne, who was a notoriously deep sleeper. He plopped down heavily into one of the wooden chairs and gave a little grunt for a hello.

"Nice of you to take it upon yourself," Mal said with gratitude that didn't seem entirely genuine. "When'd you wake up?"

"Five," Bridget said.

"Couldn't drag me outta bed at five 'less someone needed t' get a bullet in their ass," Jayne muttered as he loaded his plate.

"Well, it's quite a bit of food," Bridget pointed out. "Had to start early."

"Not to put a damper on this pleasant little surprise, but when you ain't on solid ground and don't know when you're gonna be stoppin' next, there's this thing I like to call 'rationing'…," Mal said to her.

"Oh…_wo de ma_, I'm sorry I didn't even stop to think…," Bridget said, mortified.

"I know you didn't, that's why I'm tellin' you," said Mal. "Makes sense that you wouldn't think about it, though, being grounded as often as you are. If you run out of food, you just get up and buy some more. But we ain't got fuel enough to be stopping at every ruttin' planet we see to stock up, nor do we have the money for somethin' like that." Mal saw that he'd been a little too blunt with her, even though he had to say it. She picked at her breakfast as if she weren't gonna eat it. "I ain't mad this time, I appreciate your willingness to pull your weight around here. I know we got a lot of people on this boat and you don't want no one to go hungry, but I'm sure half of this would feed us just fine."

"Yessir," she muttered. "Won't happen again."

"I ain't mad, remember? Eat what you've got, it ain't doin' any good just layin' on your plate," he encouraged her.

"We ain't gonna run outta food, are we?" she asked gingerly.

"Don't reckon so," said the Captain. "Just remember you gotta ration."

And she did. During the next few days, Bridget controlled the portions that she doled out at _Serenity_'s sit-down meals. Like the Captain said, no one starved and everyone was just as happy not eating protein substitute. After a while, the compliments fizzled away into near to nothing. Bridget figured that it was only because they'd come to expect good food morning and night. The Captain didn't say another word about rationing their precious food stores. In fact, more than anything, he seemed to be warming up to her presence, which made Bridget feel far more comfortable chatting and laughing with everyone else. She even found a few comical stories to share.

"Let's do work stories again," Kaylee said as they sat around the dinner table, full and content. "They gotta be funny ones. You start, Bridget, since you haven't told us much."

"Oh," said Bridget, feeling a little put on the spot. "Okay…let me think of one…," she thought hard about all the jobs she'd ever had and finally found a story worthy of talking about. "Alright, so I just got this in between job as a nanny for seven little kids on Osirus. Seven of 'em. And I'm not too good with kids, but 'cause there were so many, the pay was good, so I took it. And the first night, their mom was tellin' me all I needed to know to look after 'em, and I was tryin' my best to remember it all, and I was tired and hungry, so I weren't really in a rememberin' sort of mood, see.

"So finally the parents left and I'm alone with all these kids, losin' track of their names and such, and the one that weren't no more than a year old finally woke up from a nap. First thing he sees is my big dumb face starin' down at him, and he starts to cryin' somethin' fierce 'cause I ain't his momma. So I pick him up and try to get him to stop his carryin' on, and I felt awful, 'cause what if I woke up with some gorram stranger lookin' down at me? Poor thing must'a been so confused and scared. Anyway, after I started to think about it and what with this kid cryin' his damn face off and me being so damn tired, I started cryin' too," Bridget said with a sheepish grin. The table broke into amused chuckles. "And them six other kids was starin' at me like I was _kuang zhe de._ Then the gorram parents call, and I'm still blubberin', trying so hard to keep it together so I don't look such a fool in front of the kids. Needless to say, that was the last time I ever babysat."

"That was a good one," Kaylee said with a smile. "I bet you got lots of stories, what with how many jobs you've had."

"Yeah, I got a million of 'em, some not so funny," Bridget replied. "Okay, who's next? I ain't gonna be the only one who has to tell a humiliating story tonight."

Mal was starting to worry. He'd been calling around, seeing if there was a job for his crew, but none of the usuals had anything for him. It had been a whole week now, floating in the black without a goal. He knew that it could be like this, but it didn't mean that he was gonna sit there and like it.

Besides the issue of no work, he had something else burnin' on his mind: Bridget. Despite his best efforts, Mal couldn't resist the urge to keep her aboard on account of he didn't want to go back to the _niu fen_ he was used to eating. It was his original intention to hire a cook when he first bought _Serenity_, but for some reason, he just never got around to it. On top of that, he felt so gorram sorry for her. The kid was dirt poor and spent most days working her ass off just so she could eat. Out of the eight days she'd been there, he saw her wear the same six articles of clothing over and over in different combinations. She didn't even have a place to call home.

Mal knew just as well as most people that it didn't take much for him to go soft, despite his tough façade. This was without a doubt one of those times. Besides, he trusted her well enough. She caused him no trouble, as promised, and she was a kind enough soul. Mal just hoped that this wouldn't get his mercenary's hopes up. Jayne hadn't gotten over his sudden, unexplainable feelings for the waitress turned cook, not by a long shot. Mal still caught him staring, even though Bridget didn't seem to notice.

"She wouldn't, anyway," Mal thought to himself. "Not Jayne." For lack of anything better to do, he decided that this was as good a time as any to let Bridget in on the news that he'd let her stay, should she want to.

"Bridget, could you come on up to the bridge, please? I got a matter that needs to be dealt with," he said into the p.a. Moments later, a curious looking Bridget Li poked her head into the cockpit.

"Sir?" she asked.

"Come'ere," he said. Bridget did as she was told. "Have a seat." She sat down in the co-pilot's chair, which felt like it was rarely used. "How're you likin' it on this boat?"

"Er…fine, Captain, just fine. Fact, I haven't felt this rested or this well liked since I can't remember when," Bridget said.

"Yeah. I've taken on a lot of passengers over the course of my time out here and not a one of 'em has been this popular with the whole crew," said Mal.

"Oh, well, I dunno about that…," she stammered, cheeks going rosy.

"It's true. And I'll tell you what else, I really appreciate how cooperative and helpful you've been around here," he said. "You've got one hell of a work ethic."

"It's nothing, really," she said. "Things just gotta get done, you know?" Mal gave her a smile.

"Guess what I'm sayin' here is that you can stay until it suits you to leave," he said. "I know it's your nature to travel around, but if ever you wanna make this boat your home, I got nothin' against it."

"Well…thank you, I s'pose," she said, not knowing what else to say. "I sure like it here, make no mistake. I guess it just depends on where we stop and what the pay's like."

"I promise to pay you if we ever get another job," he assured her.

"Another _smuggling_ job?" asked Bridget gingerly, finally finding the guts to confront him about what exactly went on in _Serenity_'s cargo bay.

"Yeah. Another smuggling job," he said. "That bother you?"

"Not really, I was just curious and wasn't sure how to ask," she said.

"Well, that's what we do," he said. "I won't ask you to help 'less you wanna."

"I'll let you know," she said with a little smile.

"Now that that's all taken care of," said Mal, straightening up in Wash's chair, "there's a few things that I need to talk to you about as an honorary member of this crew."

"Alright," she said slowly.

"First order of business: please, for god's sake, call me Mal on occasion," he said. Bridget arched an eyebrow. "I'm serious."

"I think I can manage that," she said with a little smile.

"Secondly, next planet we stop at, I'm having Inara take you clothes shopping. It ain't right for a girl to have so little," he said.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that…," she protested.

"Did I hear you ask?" he said. "You're to go shopping, that's an order. That leads me to my next point. Even though I'm giving you permission to drop most of the formalities, I'm still the captain, which means what I say goes. If I tell you somethin' ain't right, I expect you to cease and desist immediately. You're to do what you're told, understood?"

"Yessir," she said.

"I think that's all I got for now," he said. "Consider yourself hired." Bridget smiled broadly.

"Thanks, Mal," she said. "Much appreciated."

"Alright, before this gets too sentimental, how 'bout you get back to whatever it was you were doing?" he said with a little smile.

"Sure, Captian," she replied, beaming. She turned and exited the cockpit, happier than she'd been in a good long time.

"I got good news for ya, Mal. Seems a fella I know on Athens has a transport job he can't get no one to do. Told him I'd give you a call."

"Can't say I ain't surprised to hear from you, Patience, I didn't think we were on the best of terms," said Mal to the vid screen with a little smirk.

"We ain't, but the two of us aren't doin' any business, are we?" said the grouchy old woman.

"What's the cargo?" Mal asked.

"Grass," Patience answered simply.

"Wha…grass, did you say?" Mal stammered.

"That's right. My friend down there says he struck up a deal with some settlers on NewHall. Promised 'em almost three acres of sod, but he can't get no one who'd take a job like that," Patience said. "I told him if anyone was desperate enough to pile a bunch of dirt 'n' grass inta their cargo bay, it'd be you."

"What's he payin'?" asked the Captain.

"300 platinum," Patience said. Mal's innards churned.

"_300 _platinum?" he asked, boggled by the number.

"You heard right. Man's been waitin' almost half a year tryin' to find someone who's willing to take it. It's a messy job, Mal, but knowin' how crappy that ship of yours is, I'd take it if I were you," she said with a scoff. "You could use the money on some maintenance." The thought of 300 platinum caused Mal to hardly notice that she'd insulted _Serenity_.

"Where's this guy live?" asked Mal.

"Anavisos. Name's Nelson. Trace Nelson. Owns a big ranch there, you can't miss it," said Patience.

"Wash, how long'll it take us to get to Athens?" asked Mal.

"I'd say we're about five days out," Wash estimated.

"Alright, Patience, tell this Trace Nelson guy of yours we'll be there around five days or so," Mal said.

"He'll be happy to hear it," she said before disconnecting.

"Attention, people, we got ourselves a job!" Mal crowed into the p.a. Wash set a course for the boarder planet of Athens with a grin on his face.

"Isn't the first time that woman's dug us out of a scrape," he said.

"I was just thinkin' that myself," said Mal with a satisfied smile. "Must be my pretty face." He clapped Wash on the shoulder before leaving him to the flying.

_**Fin**_

**Author's note: **_So, what say you? If you'd like to see my versions of the episodes leading up to the movie, let me know and I'll start a-writin'! I plan to eventually go over why Book and Inara both left _Serenity_ before the movie and whatnot. Tell me what you think!_


	3. Ep 16: Ship Wreck part 1

_Author's Note: Hey, people, sorry for the crazy wait for the 16th episode. I wrote the 15th one over my Winter Break and now I'm back in school and I'm taking a whopping 17 credits (bad idea, college freshman, bad idea…) So anyway, I've been busy with class and homework and social crap. I hope this tides you over till I dream up the next installment. Thanks for sticking with it!_

_Serenity_ floated lazily about the stars on its way to NewHall, its cargo bay full to the brim with huge rolled up strips of sod. The whole place smelled strongly of earth and freshly cut grass. No one even tried getting to other parts of the ship by way of the cargo bay, as the whole thing had turned into a muddy mess from all the watering they'd been doing for the past week. It was a long way to NewHall, but the crew had no difficulty keeping themselves busy.

"So…so we're standin' there after school, right, and I got this cigar I stole from one of the ranch hands," said a very drunk Malcolm Reynolds to his equally drunk crew as they sat around the common area. "And I thought, you know, it'd be shiny if Lynn saw me smokin' the damn thing, so…," he was cut off by a fit of his own laughter. He wiped an amused tear from his eye and started back up on the story. "So she walks by and I'm tryin' not to get sick from the smoke, but I can't, and all she sees is me coughing up a gorram lung on account of the cigar." The listeners were ceased by hysterical drunk giggles. "God, I was such a nerdy little kid."

"Doesn't seem like much changed," laughed Kaylee, who was snuggled up next to Simon. There was a lull in the conversation where the eight of them that'd decided to partake in the festivities just sat and listened to the gentle whir of _Serenity_'s engines. Bridget poured herself another shot.

"Anyone else want one of these?" she asked.

"Hit me," said Jayne, who had sat next to her on accident. He handed her his shot glass and she filled it so full that some of the clear liquid sloshed over the edges when he picked it up. He and Bridget held up their drinks to each other before downing the contents of their glasses. Jayne groaned and sank back into his chair after the liquor settled in his belly. He looked to his right and smiled slowly at Bridget.

"What?" she asked, grinning back. She was the only one slightly confused about Jayne's sudden relaxed, good mood. Everyone else was very aware how friendly a drunk he was.

"Nah, I don't wanna say," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"No, really!" Bridget insisted, giving him a playful punch in the arm. "Come on…"

"Oh, here it comes…," Mal groaned from across the room, laughing quietly to himself.

"I was just thinkin' a how…how pretty you are," said Jayne with a goofy grin.

"You were not!" Bridget cried loudly, thoroughly amused.

"I truly was," Jayne said, his speech very much slurred. "You got a powerful pretty face."

"Yer just sayin' that 'cause you're drunk," Bridget giggled.

"No I ain't! Well, actually, I prolly wouldn't be _sayin_' this to ya, but I'd sure as hell'd be _thinkin'_ it," Jayne told her.

"Why aren't you this nice when you're sober?" asked Bridget faintly as she leaned in nearer to him.

"You guys need a room, or what?" Zoë chuckled. Jayne's face lit up as if inspired.

"Want to?" he asked urgently. Bridget giggled some more.

"_Hell_, no, Jayne!" she cried, smacking him in the arm again.

"Well why the ruttin' hell not?" he asked.

"Be_cause_. Just…just 'cause," she said with a shrug. "You don't profess your feelings to a woman when you're this drunk, 'cause then she'll think that you don't mean it."

"I just got done sayin' that I _do_ mean in, damn it," Jayne said, getting frustrated. Everyone was havin' too much fun watching Bridget and Jayne make asses of themselves to intervene. Truth be told, most of them were trying so hard to suppress their sniggering that they could barely focus on anything else. "I'll prove it."

"How?" asked Bridget with a smug grin.

"Oh boy…," Wash chuckled into his drink.

"Jayne?" Kaylee asked slowly, a grin on her face.

"Maybe you guys should just-," Simon began to say, but he stopped when Jayne leaned over and kissed Bridget full on the mouth. "Never mind…"

_Take my love, take my land_  
_Take me where I cannot stand_  
_I don't care, I'm still free_  
_You can't take the sky from me_  
_Take me out to the black_   
_Tell them I ain't comin' back_  
_Burn the land and boil the sea_  
_You can't take the sky from me_   
_There's no place I can be_  
_Since I found Serenity_   
_But you can't take the sky from me..._

Episode 16

_Ship Wreck_

Bridget sat there, mildly stunned by what'd just occurred.

"Alright, _maybe_ I believe you," she said, biting her lip.

"Whaddya say about that room?" he asked, trying to look mildly seductive and failing miserably.

"I say…that I've only known you for two weeks and I don't even know if I quite like you when you're sober," she said honestly.

"That just ain't nice," said Jayne dejectedly.

"Well _you_ ain't nice, most of the time," Bridget pointed out.

"So yer…yer not gonna even give me a chance? To be nice?" he asked.

"How 'bout this: if you can spend a whole week at least trying to be nice to Simon, I'll seriously consider it," she said. At this point, the room exploded with drunken giggles.

"I'd like to see that!" Wash laughed. "Jayne be nice to Simon…"

"Don't think I can do it?" Jayne growled.

"No, Jayne, I really don't," Wash assured him.

"Well nice ain't everything," Jayne said. "Nice don't bring home money. Nice don't keep other guys 'way from yer girl. Nice don't get things done."

"Well, I like nice. I like guys who're nice, and faithful and loyal and trustworthy," said Bridget.

"I'm all those things, 'cept fer nice," Jayne said.

"Oh, I'm sure you could keep your hands off all those bar whores we come across just to be with Bridget," Zoë scoffed. Had Bridget been a little more sober, she might have taken offence.

"I wouldn't _need_ no whores if I had me a relationship," Jayne growled defensively.

"Bridget, lemme tell you a little something about Jayne, here," Mal said, grinning like a bastard, his eyes glazed over. "You don't want him 'cause he'll cheat and lie and sell you out."

"That ain't true! I won't, I swear it!" Jayne said, getting down on both knees in front of Bridget. He took her delicate fingers in his enormous hands and looked up into her eyes. "I won't cheat you or lie or sell you out."

"He cheated and lied and sold me out more'n once," Mal warned her.

"This is different, though!" Jayne barked at the Captain.

"No it ain't, Jayne," Mal told him. Bridget was having a hard time making a good decision. In fact, she felt like she was havin' a hard time even staying conscious.

"Um…," she groaned. "I don't feel so good, maybe I shouldn't be makin' any choices right now…" As suddenly as the conversation started, it ended abruptly with Bridget passing out and flopping forward into Jayne, who was still on bended knee in front of her.

"Gorramit, Mal!" Jayne said loudly. "I was this close!"

"I might be drunk off my ass, but I sure as hell won't let you take advantage of that little girl," said Mal sternly.

"She ain't so little," Jayne said. "Twenty-three's not so little."

"Lot littler than you," Zoë reminded him.

"How's about you get her to bed, Mr. Romance?" Mal suggested. "No funny stuff." Jayne got shakily to his feet, carrying Bridget in his arms.

"Damn, she weighs near to nothin'," he muttered to himself as he carried her down the hall to her bunk. He slid the door open with an elbow and made sure he didn't bump her head or her feet on the threshold. He set her down on her bed and took off her combat boots for her before throwing the sheet over her. He looked down at her almost sadly.

"I wouldn't never cheat or lie or sell you out," he said. "Promise."

The next morning, Bridget woke up with the worst hangover of her life. She didn't want to move for fear of becoming nauseous. Her head pounded when she remembered the night before. The tail end of it sort of faded into oblivion, though.

"Must've passed out," she groaned to herself. She cradled her head in her hands. "Ugh, my head…"

"Knock, knock," she heard Simon's voice call from outside. "You awake?"

"Kinda," she answered. She looked up at the little digital clock she'd gotten on Athens along with a new pair of cargo pants, a black, ruffley skirt and a gray tank top. The numbers were fuzzy at first, but she squinted and discovered that it was 2:00 in the afternoon. "Shit," she groaned. "Come in, if you wanna." Simon slid open the door.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Hung over and disgusting," she answered. "I really, really hope I don't throw up…how the hell did I get to bed, anyway? I don't remember."

"Jayne," said Simon. "Do you remember any of last night at all?"

"Er…," muttered Bridget, trying to recall what happened. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks and her head pounded even more. "Oh, no," she said. "He kissed me, didn't he?"

"He sure did," Simon said with a smile. "The two of you are the friendliest drunks I've ever seen."

"_Zao gao,_" Bridget cursed. "We didn't…you know…he didn't…"

"No," Simon told her firmly. "Nothing like that."

"Thank God," she said, throwing the sheets over her head.

"He pretty much professed his undying love to you, though," he said with amusement in his voice.

"Was he serious?" asked Bridget, peeking out from the covers.

"It's kinda hard to say. Jayne gets like that when he's drunk," Simon answered. "Kinda happy and touchy-feely. He seemed really upset when you didn't show the same enthusiasm."

"Well, I don't really…I mean, he's just not really what I'm looking for. Doesn't meet my standards," Bridget said.

"Not nice enough?" asked Simon with a little smirk. Bridget smiled and shook her head a little.

"Yeah, that's it," she muttered. "Say, doc, you got anything for a ragin' headache?"

"Sure do. I'll be right back," he said. Bridget sat up slowly in her bed and felt slightly motion sick.

"I hate this," she seethed. "Never ever again." A second later, she heard the sounds of heavy boots getting closer outside her open door. Simon didn't wear boots.

"Afternoon, Miss Bridget," said a very chipper Captain Malcolm Reynolds as he strode into her room.

"Please not so loud, Captain, my skull feels like it's gonna explode," Bridget moaned.

"Well, at least you're awake. We sorta feared alcohol poisoning last night, but Simon came in and checked on you. Said you weren't quite that far gone," he said coming and sitting down on the bed next to her. "So what've we learned from this happy little experience?"

"That I can't hold my liquor," Bridget answered.

"Exactly," Mal said with a nod. "I do believe you drank my mercenary under the table, and he's about two hundred pounds heavier."

"About your mercenary…," Bridget said slowly. "Was he serious last night?"

"You want the truth?" he asked. "'Cause I could lie. It'd probably make you happier."

"No, I want the truth," Bridget chuckled. Mal heaved a sigh.

"See, the thing with Jayne is he's got all sorts of mixed up emotions and things goin' on in his little skull," he explained. "He don't talk about 'em much 'less he's truly messed up over 'em. That is, 'till he's good and drunk. Then he'll tell you all manner of things he's feelin'. So long story short, I'd say yes. He was serious."

"Uh huh…," Bridget said, feeling no better, if not worse than she did before. "Is he really the bad guy you made him out to be last night?"

"Well, sort of," Mal said with a scoff. "He's loyal most times, but whenever things like money or sex come into the picture, Jayne sorta gets confused. Makes bad decisions."

"I see…: Bridget said, feeling almost downtrodden. It'd been a long time since anyone had shown any genuine interest in her.

"It's doubtful that anyone can snap him outta that," Mal told her. "I don't wanna see you hurt, Miss Bridget, you've grown on me in these two weeks."

"I won't do nothin' stupid," she promised.

"Good," said the Captain with a smile. At that moment, Simon came back with two white pills and a glass of water.

"Sorry it took so long," he said, handing over the gathered items. Bridget stuffed the pills in her mouth and gulped down almost the whole glass of water.

"So about that breakfast that you failed to make us this morning…," Mal started to say.

"Oh, you _got_ to be joking!" moaned the hungover cook. Mal smiled.

"You know I am. Fact, I think I'll make you something to eat for a change," he said. "Look like you could use something in your belly."

"I wouldn't say no," Bridget admitted. Simon and Mal both left Bridget to her own devices. Not finding much of a reason to stay awake, she rolled over and fell back to sleep.

"Thank you so much," said the rancher as the crew slowly unloaded acres of sod from the cargo bay almost a week later. "If this stuff takes, I can get a few cows and maybe some horses."

"Wish you the best of luck with that," Mal said with a professional nod.

"And Trace paid you, right?" asked the rancher.

"Yes sir, he certainly did," Mal replied. As Jayne and Zoe passed by them, hauling a heavy roll of sod. Both of them were dirty as hell. "No need to worry about that." It took near an hour with everyone's help, save Inara's, to get the grass unloaded. By the time the last roll was removed, they were covered from head to toe in dirt and mud. So was the cargo bay. It took hours to scrub it out, and by the time they were done, they were all dead tired and their bodies ached somethin' fierce.

"Thank you for your trouble," said the prospective rancher.

"Weren't nothin'," Zoë said with a sigh.

"I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't got the money to pay for your labor," he said sheepishly.

"Well that's too bad…," Jayne started to say.

"What my friend, here, means is we were happy to help. There's no need to pay us," Mal said. The crew bid farewell to the rancher and they all marched back up the ramp into the cargo bay, which was as clean as it was going to get.

"I don't get how come we didn't ask for no money from that guy," growled Jayne.

"Because he was poor and didn't have any, Jayne," Mal said irritably. "Why can't you put folks before yourself sometimes?"

"'Cause I don't like bustin' my ass all day long without getting paid for it," Jayne shot back.

"Notice how no one else seems to mind but you," Mal pointed out. "Money ain't everything."

"Well it's somethin', that's for damn sure," Jayne said stomping off to his bunk.

"Did I actually just witness a full grown man stomp off to pout?" asked Bridget, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes you did," said Mal, obviously angered by Jayne's lack of compassion.

Bridget sat in her bunk with a bowl of luke warm water and a wash rag. One thing she missed about being on solid earth is that there was really nowhere to shower. She stripped down to her undergarments and scrubbed all the dirt off her skin left over from hauling grass. Now she knew why no one else wanted to transport the sod to NewHall.

After a few minutes, Bridget realized that she was slowly nodding off. She tried to hurry up and wipe away the rest of the grime so that she could get to bed. Without warning, the door was thrown open.

"Hey, you cookin' anything tonight?" asked the voice of Jayne Cobb. Bridget let out a shriek.

"Jayne!" she cried, trying to cover her half naked body up so he couldn't see. "Get out!"

"I was just askin'," he said, obviously trying his best to enjoy the scenery.

"Get OUT!" she cried, chucking the bowl at his head. He ducked, but still got completely soaked. The bowl shattered against the wall behind him.

"No need to get hostile!" he chuckled.

"You did that on purpose!" she cried.

"Ain't no way to prove that," he said with a smirk. "I was just hungry and wanted to know if you'd be cooking tonight."

"Well I'm not!" she yelled, stomping over to the door wrapped in her bed sheet. "_Knock_ next time, gorramit!" She slammed the door on him and heard him cackling to himself all the way down the hall. She felt her cheeks burn with humiliation. "Jerk."

Inara sat in her shuttle, getting some of her companion affairs in order. She was quite thankful to be the only one completely unaffected by the sod job. After all, she didn't really have any clothes that she could afford getting dirty. And even if she did, she didn't know if she was physically strong enough to help much.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked. As usual, Mal took that as 'come in with your shoes on and throw yourself on the sofa.' "Could you be _more_ abusive to my furniture?" she asked him irritably.

"I'm sure I could try," he said with a smile. Inara rolled her eyes.

"How can I help you?" she asked, practically through gritted teeth.

"I need your take on something that's been bothering the hell out of me for a while," he said.

"Alright," she said with a sigh. "What's the problem?"

"Jayne's the problem," Mal said. "He's taken a liking to my cook, and I'm not so comfortable with that."

"Well you can't come between them if that's what they want," Inara said with a shrug.

"I know it's what _Jayne_ wants, but I can't be certain what Bridget wants," Mal said. He shook his head. "She such a nice kid, I don't want her caught up in all of Jayne's _gou shi_."

"Did it ever occur to you that Bridget's a woman, not a kid, and that she can probably take care of herself?" Inara asked.

"Well…I…," Mal stammered, getting frustrated.

"You have so little faith in women, Mal. They can be just as strong, if not stronger, than men," Inara said.

"I know that," he barked. "Look at Zoë: she's tough as nails. But Bridget, she ain't a soldier, that's my point. She's too…"

"Kind? Pretty? Caring?" Inara suggested.

"Yeah. She's too much of all those things to get let down by a ruttin' criminal like Jayne," said Mal.

"Who ever said that he'd let her down?" Inara asked.

"He's let me down. He's let my crew down. On multiple occasions," Mal reminded her. "He's taken too many women to bed to even count. If that's not a let down waiting to happen, I don't know what is."

"Well, if you don't like him that much, why don't you just kick him off?" asked Inara, getting irritated.

"It ain't that I don't like him," Mal said angrily, trying to articulate his meaning. "What I'm sayin', here, is that he's too big, too aggressive and too gorram stupid for Bridget."

"How about letting Bridget make her _own_ decisions and mistakes?" Inara said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were starting to sound jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I'm just concerned," Mal said defensively. "Am I allowed?"

"Yes, you're allowed," Inara said with a smile. "Just relax about it. I'm sure that you're just being paranoid."

Bridget had been working her ass off all morning long over a hot stove. When she got her share of the sod job money, she headed straight to the market on the first core planet they stopped at. With it, she bought everything she needed to cook with for the next few weeks. As soon as they were back in the air, she set out on a culinary journey of epic proportions; Dim Sum.

She had only prepared Dim Sum a few times in her life, and that was with the help of several other people in a big kitchen with every utensil a cook could dream up. Going it alone was harder than she expected, but she was managing all right. By one in the afternoon, she was finished and set everything out on the table, along with a very good Chinese tea that was highly recommended. For the first time that day, she allowed people into the kitchen.

"I thought it was too good to be true, but here it is," Wash said, shaking his head. He began lifting the covers off the little circular platters. "I can't even remember the last time I had Dim Sum. Is that pork shu mai?"

"Shrimp, actually," Bridget corrected him. "Well, it ain't for starin' at." With that, everyone sat down and started dishing themselves up.

"Did you make steamed hom bow?" asked River, looking hopeful at the covered dishes.

"Oh, that one's by Shepherd," said Bridget. Book looked under a few covers before finding the right miniature platter. He passed it down the line to River. Everyone traded the dishes around and sampled the fruits of Bridget's labor.

"These pork pies are ridiculous," Mal said, clearly enjoying them. "How do you do it?"

"Magic," Bridget said through a mouthful of egg custard tart. She watched everybody eat and was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of belonging. There wasn't a person at that table who didn't like her, not a single one that didn't appreciate her work. For the first time, she was really starting to feel a part of that family that she saw when she first arrived, and she felt that maybe it was about time she told them so.

"You know, I've been doing a little thinking," she said, getting everyone's attention. "And I know I've told everyone that it might be any day that I move on…"

"Oh, no…," Wash said slowly, his face falling.

"No, Bridget!" Kaylee said. "You can't leave!" The dining room got real loud with different protests.

"Wait a sec!" she cried. Once it was quiet, she continued. "I know I've told everyone that it might be any day that I move on, _but_," she said, putting extra emphasis on the 'but'. "I can't see no sense in leavin' my home." The kitchen exploded with happy comments and little cheers and everywhere Bridget looked there was a smile.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" cried Wash. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"I won't," Bridget laughed.

"You know this means you'll never be rid of us," Book said.

"I hope never to be rid of you," she said happily.

"Plus you've gone and spoiled us on your cooking," said Zoë affectionately.

"You couldn't make me go back to that protein crap," Jayne said, looking very pleased with the news.

"This is so exciting!" Kaylee cried. "I was gonna miss you so bad if you left!"

"Well I ain't goin' anywhere, so don't worry," Bridget told her. They finished off their meal in high spirits, knowing that their cook was there to stay.

Bridget sat awake in bed that night reflecting on everything. It felt so good to lie there in a bed that she could call her own. This was _her_ bunk. _Her _bed. She had nearly forgotten how nice it was to have a place that you could really call home. Now when people asked where she lived, she would answer 'I live on that boat, there. _Serenity_." She'd forgotten even what it was like to have real friends, too. It hadn't been a terribly long time since she'd boarded _Serenity_, but the crew was the closest thing she'd had to friends and family in three years.

Then she thought of something else: Jayne. Despite his coarse nature and his thug-like behavior, he was actually starting to grow on her. She didn't feel like goin' out and singin' it to the world, but there was something about him that made her smile a little. Maybe it was on account of he really seemed to care about her. And although she couldn't be totally sure if it was just a ploy to get her clothes off, she had a feeling that it wasn't. The idea of a man really having genuine interest in _her, _not what he could get out of her, was boggling. And somewhat attractive. But even so, she tried hard to repress whatever it was that was starting to take hold of her. After all, she'd made a promise that she wouldn't get involved with him. She promised Mal, and he was in charge. Should she ever break her promise, Bridget feared the worst: getting kicked off the boat. Everything she had gained would be lost. Her home. Her friends. Her family. It was simply out of the question.


	4. Ep 16: Ship Wreck part 2

Episode 16

**_Ship Wreck_**

continued….

The job that came next fell neatly into _Serenity_'s lap. It was perfect, it was easy and the pay was good. The only problem was that it meant having to deal with Badger again. Mal was just about as fond of Badger as he was getting poked in the eye. Needless to say, he wasn't very excited. After all, the last two times he'd dealt with the crime lord, he'd been humped by the feds and nearly killed in a sword fight.

This time, though, it seemed a little easier. There were no cattle involved this time, but there was going to be some salvaging from a wreck again. He had never really thought of Badger as a crime lord as much as a scavenger, but Mal liked his engines running and his crew fed, so he figured he'd cooperate.

It didn't take too long to arrive at the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone since they were already close to the core. Bridget wasn't entirely enthusiastic to be back on her home planet. It brought back some painful memories that she didn't much feel like revisiting. Originally, she wasn't even going to get off the ship, but Kaylee convinced her to go shopping for room decorations.

"Your bunk has nothin' of your personality in it," she said, standing in the doorway of Bridget's room. "Come on, Bridget, we've never gone shopping before!"

"Oh, alright," Bridget sighed, giving in. She flipped her book closed. "Lets go before I change my mind."

"It'll be fun, I promise," said Kaylee, who was all smiles. The two girls headed off the ship to the busy market place. Bridget hoped she didn't run into anyone she knew from before. Her eyes darted from one place to another anxiously. Kaylee noticed and looked at Bridget curiously.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothin'," Bridget responded with a little shake of her head. She smiled at Kaylee briefly. "Let's just find some decorations, okay?"

"Sure," said Kaylee, smiling back to hide her worry. They shuffled their way through the crowd to a little shop that sold all kinds of candles and lanterns. For a moment, Bridget forgot why she was so nervous.

"How cute!" She said, admiring a string of plug-in lanterns with pink butterflies on them.

"I like 'em!" Kaylee commented. "They're kinda…romantic."

"What would I need to be romantic for?" Bridget scoffed with a little smile.

"Oh, I don't know," Kaylee said slowly. "Maybe a tall, dark, muscle-y, handsome man just happens to show up…Who's name just happens to start with a 'J' and end with an 'ayne'."

"I-," Bridget stammered. "I have absolutely no interest in Jayne. Period."

"Uh huh…," Kaylee said with a smile. "Don't suppose you would, what with you getting so friendly with him that night we were drinkin'..."

"I wouldn't have been so friendly had I been sober," Bridget assured her. "Seriously."

"Okay…," sang Kaylee with a shrug. "Whatever you say."

"These lanterns are really cute, though," she muttered, examining them closer. "And I really like these candles." She picked one of them up, a green one that was cut into a spiral.

"Let's buy 'em, then," said Kaylee with a smile.

"I don't know if I really have enough money…," Bridget said. "I mean, I still have to pick up some food."

"Oh, quit worryin' about food for two seconds and buy yourself something with that cut of yours!" Kaylee encouraged. "We ain't gonna starve 'cause you splurged a little."

"Guess so," said Bridget. In the end, she decided to buy the string of miniature lanterns and a few candles. She also got a wall scroll with the Chinese calligraphy of her zodiac sign (the dog) and some incense with a wooden burner that was decoratively carved. These things would definitely help make her room a nicer place to be.

On the way back to _Serenity_, Kaylee and Bridget ran into Mal, Jayne and Zoë. Mal looked frustrated, so Bridget decided not to even try to talk to him.

"Whatcha got, there?" asked Jayne, nodding at the bag Bridget was carrying.

"Decorations for my room," Bridget answered. "Lights and stuff."

"Shiny," Jayne replied. "Need help carryin' 'em in?"

"No, it doesn't barely weigh a thing," Bridget said. "Thanks, though."

"Don't mention it," grunted the mercenary. Mal listened to this little exchange and gritted his teeth. Despite Inara dismissing it as Mal's own paranoia, he was sure that Bridget was falling for him. Everything pointed in that direction and he couldn't really afford for Jayne's head to be up in the clouds. They had a job to do, one that was significantly more dangerous than Badger had made it sound. Mal couldn't do it without him.

"Okay, so _what_ did you agree to again?" asked Wash, his voice tinged with sarcasm. The entire crew, including Book and Inara, were stuffed into the cockpit listening to what was going to happen.

"There's a wreck just outside the boarder planets. It's got all sorts of valuable supplies hidden away on it and Badger's hired us for a hefty sum to retrieve said valuable supplies. The unsafe part about all of this is that it's located near Reaver territory. He didn't know what happened to the ship, only that it's dead floatin' in the black somewhere. Hopefully we won't have any visitors while we're doing the job," Mal said.

"Can't _stand_ Reavers," Jayne shuddered. "It's unnatural…the things they do…"

"We've outrun and outsmarted them before," said Mal. "If it comes to that, I'm sure we can do it again."

"How about we don't let it come to that," Zoë said.

"Good idea," Mal agreed. "We got fuel enough to hard burn out there?"

"Sure do," said Wash. "And if I play my cards right, we'll have just enough to get back to the core for new fuel cells."

"Good. Then let's get this over with as soon as possible," Mal ordered.

_Serenity_ did nothin' but haul ass for three straight days. Wash was constantly at the bridge, he even took his meals there. Bridget was always glad to bring him a plate, but she missed him at the table.

"Dinner," Bridget sang as she climbed the short flight of stairs into the cockpit. Wash leaned back in his chair to see her.

"Great, I'm starving," he said hungrily, taking the bowl of udon soup from her. "Mind keeping me company?"

"No, not at all," said Bridget. She took a seat and watched Wash devour his meal.

"This never gets old," he said, poking at his udon with his chopsticks. Bridget smiled humbly.

"It ain't much tonight," she replied.

"It'll do," he said enthusiastically.

"Next time I'll do stir fry, maybe. When I can find some decent vegetables and some nice frozen soba noodles," she said.

"I'll bet you make a mean stir fry," Wash said.

"It ain't bad," Bridget smiled. "I'm glad you like my cooking."

"Me too," said Wash with a grin. "How was the dinner conversation tonight?"

"Entertaining," Bridget said.

"Yeah, I could hear you guys down here," said Wash. "Sounded like fun."

"It was," she said with a nod. She looked out the bridge window and could see nothing but the stars and the clear black. "It's kinda lonely, lookin' out there."

"Sometimes," Wash agreed. "It's different, though, when you got a ship full of people you love."

"Yeah, I've noticed," said Bridget. "It's weird…I mean, I've only been here for a month, but I really feel like this is where I belong. I'd always thought that where I'd stop would be somewhere…stationary. I guess it just never occurred to me that a ship like this could be home."

"I can't exactly relate, but I know what you mean," he said. "Flying's everything to me. Well, besides Zoë. Anyway, I've always known I'd end up living on a ship."

"Speaking of Zoë, you two are such an odd couple," Bridget said. "Like a backwards fairy tale, or something." Wash chuckled.

"That's one I haven't heard," he said. "But it's accurate enough. She's the brave warrior and I'm the damsel in distress."

"Is that what it's like?" asked Bridget, thoroughly amused.

"More or less," he said sheepishly. "It's the most interesting relationship I've ever been in."

"Hmm," Bridget mumbled with a little smile.

"Got something on your mind?" he asked. "A warrior maybe? Or a damsel in distress?"

"Ah…," Bridget said, her cheeks turning a little pink. "Yes and no…"

"Uh oh," Wash said slowly. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"He…well, it's just…I don't know if I actually wanna talk about-," Bridget babbled.

"Jayne? Is that it?" asked Wash. Bridget's blush darkened. "That's sweet in a disturbing sort of way…"

"Oh, thanks," Bridget said sarcastically.

"He really seems to like you, though," said Wash. "I've never really known Jayne to be exclusive, but then again, I don't know him very well."

"Yeah, he liked me when he was drunk _and_ he sleeps around," Bridget said. "It's great, a dream come true."

"He probably likes you sober but doesn't know how to say it," he explained. "Sometimes men can't really get out what they mean in a coherent way."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I _want_ him to like me," Bridget said. Then she lowered her voice. "I promised Mal I wouldn't, you know, do anything stupid."

"Having feelings for someone isn't stupid," Wash said. "Even if it is someone like Jayne. You can't help who you eventually end up loving. I can attest for that."

"Woah, how about we just leave the word 'love' out of it," Bridget said. Wash put up his hands in defense.

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be ashamed. Mal told me Zoë and I couldn't be together, and now look: we're happily married and everything turned out fine. Mal just gets…nervous about stuff like that. I'm sure he's just worried about you."

"He is," Bridget replied. She heaved a sigh. "I just don't know what to do. Jayne isn't really my type, I don't know why I'm attracted to him in the first place."

"Probably for the same reason I'm attracted to Zoë: she's tough, she's brave and she's good lookin'," Wash said.

"Yeah…well, thanks for the insight, Wash, but I gotta get those dishes done," said Bridget, who had officially had enough of the current conversation.

Mal was getting anxious. He'd had more than one Reaver encounter in his life, but both incidents made him none too excited to repeat the past. Not even the money Badger was going to hand over at the end was brightening up his day, and when the money ain't worth it, neither is the job.

But they were there. The wreck was in plain sight and there was no way they were going to waste that much fuel for nothing. So instead of sending Badger a wave telling him to piss off, Mal, Jayne and Zoë suited up to board the ship.

"Picking up any unwelcome guests, Wash?" asked Mal through the walkie-talkie like device situated in his helmet.

"Not even ship bits, Captain," Wash responded. "I'll let you know if I catch anything."

"Good, thanks," Mal said. "Let's get this the hell over with." The three of them climbed into the airlock and sealed off the inner lock door behind them. The outer lock door opened in front of them and they boarded the shipwreck.

It was ominous to say the least. Whatever happened to the ship had knocked all its lights out and when the three of them flicked on their flashlights, they were met with a grisly sight.

"Shit," Jayne said. There were bodies: five of them in plain sight, layin' there with bullets in their skulls. Pools of old, coagulated blood had formed beneath them.

"I got a feeling we shouldn't be here, sir," Zoë said. "This just ain't right."

"I know. But we're here. Can't do nothin' about that but grab the goods and go," said Mal.

"We could just go back," Zoë said. "There's probably nothin' here worth gettin killed for."

"Yeah," Jayne agreed, who was just as creeped out as a man his size could be. "Could be whoever did all this is still here."

"Look," Mal said through gritted teeth. "All we gotta do is get to the cargo bay and find a few crates. In and out. Easy."

"In case you haven't noticed, things are never just 'in and out'," Jayne growled. "And it ain't never easy. 'Specially when there's dead bodies all over the place."

"Just don't look at 'em," Mal said. "I ain't fond of dead things either, but I didn't come all this damn way for nothing. Besides, whoever did this wouldn't still be hangin' around. This thing's been here for a month, it's barely pumping oxygen."

"I still don't like it," Jayne said as they ventured further into the ship, his pistol drawn and ready.

More bodies littered the cargo bay: four, this time. Grown men and a woman, all shot dead.

"I don't like this," Mal muttered. He shined his flashlight around and realized something: the cargo bay was empty. Empty as in not a damn thing in the whole cavernous room. Just those four bodies and the silence around them.

"If it were Reavers, these people wouldn't have been neatly shot and left," Zoë pointed out.

"If you call that 'neat'," Jayne said, wrinkling his nose. "Come on, Mal, ain't nothin' around that's worth takin'. Someone musta got to it before us."

"There's gotta be something here," Mal said. "Could be they got some secret compartments we don't know about."

"Well I don't much feel like hangin' around and searching for 'em," Jayne said, getting frustrated.

"Just give it a minute," Mal said. "There's gotta be something on this boat worth taking."

Bridget was becoming restless in her refurnished bunk. She hadn't heard a single sound since _Serenity_ connected with the wreck and it was a little unnerving. She closed her book and tossed it aside on her bed before getting to her feet and exiting her room. Feet padded with a new pair of bright pink fuzzy slippers, she began the ascent up stairs by the infirmary. A brief but distinct sound made her stop dead in her tracks. She turned around and looked back down the stairwell.

"Hello?" she asked. All she got for an answer was ringing silence. "River?" She slowly went back downstairs. "Simon?" Bridget made her way into the common area. "Book?" She looked around and couldn't see any sign of anyone. She tip-toed out into the cargo area. Maybe it was Mal or Jayne playing a stupid joke on her. Simon had told her a few stories about the practical jokes that went on around the ship and she hoped that was it: just a joke to scare her. "Whoever's sneaking around, it isn't funny!" Her voice reverberated off the cold metal walls of the cargo bay. She bit her lip and wondered how you could feel so eerily alone and yet very watched at the same time.

Then her eyes came to the door in the middle of the airlock: it was open. The sound she heard connected in her brain as a creak. Just like metal hinges. She hoped that the door being ajar simply meant that they were back. But as she looked around, she noticed nothing new in the cargo bay.

"Shit," she whispered. Bridget backed up slowly from the door and turned to find Wash, but when she did, she was met with a bone chilling sight: the steely shaft of a handgun poking out from behind the parked mule. She barely had time to gasp before she heard the deafening sound of a gunshot.

"Mal, you'd better get back here. _Now_," Wash said urgently.

"What's wrong?" he asked, halting his search for the missing goods.

"Bridget's been shot," Wash said, his voice shaking. Mal's heart skipped a beat.

"By who?" he asked.

"I don't know. Everyone onboard heard it and we found her in the cargo bay. Simon's treating her but it…it was at pretty close range, so it's bad…," Wash said. Jayne's blood ran cold for a moment before he got angry. Real angry. No one did that to Bridget while he was around. Not nobody. He was gonna find the son of a bitch who did it and kill him.

He took off at a run back to _Serenity_, dodging bodies as he went. Mal and Zoë followed close behind, both very worried.

Jayne plowed into the cargo bay and practically ripped his suit off. He saw a pool of blood on the floor and followed the drips to the infirmary. He pushed through the small crowd of concerned crew members. He looked through the windows and saw Simon extracting a bloody bullet from a hole the size of a golf ball in Bridget's left shoulder.

"Jesus," hissed Jayne. "Who did that?" he demanded. "Was it you, Crazy?" he asked River. "'Cause God knows you got a random violent streak."

"It wasn't River," Kaylee told him. "She was with Simon in his bunk when they heard it."

"Cat and mouse," River babbled. "Stalk and pounce."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jayne snarled. River ignored him and went on chanting the same thing over and over.

"Cat and mouse, stalk and pounce."

"Quit that," Jayne said.

"Calm down, Jayne," Mal warned him. The Captain let himself into the infirmary.

"How's she doin', doc?" he asked.

"Not good," he replied. "She'll pull through, but this is going to take a while to fix properly. Her shooter was probably standing no more than three yards away."

"Right," Mal muttered. "You take good care of her."

"She'll get the best care I can give her," Simon assured him. Mal marched out of the infirmary in a foul mood. There was someone on his ship that weren't welcome, someone who'd put a bullet in his defenseless girl for no reason but her being there.

"Jayne, Zoë," he said. Zoë gave him her full attention, but Jayne was still staring at Bridget through the infirmary windows. "Jayne," Mal said louder. Jayne tore his eyes away from the med bay. "There's someone on this ship and they've got a gun. We best find them before anyone else gets hurt. So here's what's got to happen: Zoë I want you to stay here. Make sure no one goes anywhere, keep 'em in the common area. I reckon he likes to pick off strays, so keep a sharp eye."

"Yes sir," Zoë answered, getting a tight grip on her sawed off shotgun that she'd been carrying with her since the search of the wreck.

"Jayne, you and I are searching this boat 'till we find whoever's gone and done this," Mal said. "Wash?"

"Huh?" Wash asked, looking up from his seat on one of the sofas.

"I need you at the bridge," said Mal. "We'll search the cockpit and you seal yourself up in there. I need you to be ready to get us out of here should anything happen."

"Right," he said getting up.

"We gotta end this," he said darkly.

Mal and Jayne escorted Wash to the bridge. They searched in every nook and cranny and found the place blessedly empty. From there, Wash locked the door behind the Captain and his mercenary. He took a deep breath and nervously watched the radar.

Almost back-to-back, the two men carefully searched every single room in the ship, starting with the cargo bay. They made sure that their steps were silent and their breathing was shallow. Neither of them spoke a word as they made their way through the kitchen and out into the hallway that went towards the engine room. Mal and Jayne stopped dead in their tracks when a sharp _clank_ issued from the engine room ahead. They exchanged a very serious glance before continuing slowly through the threshold. Mal looked around, his gun at the ready. He saw a swift movement behind the turning engine itself.

"Alright, come on outta there real slow," Mal ordered in a steady voice.

"Or I'll come back there and shoot ya," Jayne added. Mal gave him a 'why now?' look but Jayne didn't seem to notice. Mal could distinctly hear the sound of someone attempting to suppress their labored breathing.

"I won't tell you again," Mal warned the stranger. Suddenly, the man popped up from behind the engine and fired at the two men. They reflexively dropped to the floor. Mal turned his head to face Jayne.

"I've had just about enough of this _qing wa cao de liu mang_," he said angrily. The both of them leapt to their feet and charged at the man's hiding spot. Jayne personally ripped the gun out of his hand and pinned him against the wall while Mal aimed his own firearm at the intruder's head. Now that they could get a decent look at him, they noticed that he was dirty, unkempt and fat – no, not fat, _bloated_. His face was sunken in and his belly poked out farther than it should. The man was starving to death.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end you," Mal growled. The man just grinned a sick, yellow smile at them and chuckled to himself. "Think it's funny? Shootin' a defenseless girl while you hide in the shadows of my ship?" he demanded. "Is that what you did to the people aboard that ship? Hide away 'till you got a good shot?"

"They're gone," gibbered the man. "They all left."

"I don't have much patience right now, so try real hard to make some kinda sense," Mal said.

"Left without me," he said with a manic explosion of giggles. "Took the stuff, left me there. They're all gone."

"I think I get this," Mal said, his lips tight and his brow furrowed. "Pirates. Prolly took the ship by force, got in, killed everyone that got in their way. Left you behind."

"GONE!" the man practically screamed.

"I'm getting real tired of this," Mal said. "You made a big mistake comin' here and causing all this ruckus. See my friend, here?" Mal asked. The man's buggy blue eyes looked up at Jayne, who gave him a toothy grin. "That was his girl you went and shot. He's real mad." Jayne nodded. "Mad enough, maybe, to give you a taste of your own damn medicine."

"Maybe you should learn to keep your bitch on a leash…," the man said, his lips splitting into a crazy smile. Jayne planted a well-aimed fist square in the man's face. He crumpled into a little heap on the floor.

"Well, that takes care of that," Mal said. Jayne spat angrily.

"Pirates…," Jayne growled. Wash's voice came over the intercom.

"Mal, you might wanna wrap up whatever you're doing, we've got Reavers coming in fast."

"Just what I need," Mal groaned.

"Why don't we leave them a little snack?" Jayne suggested, looking down at the unconscious man.

"Let's," Mal agreed. The two of them carried the pirate back down to the cargo bay and shoved him back on the wreck. He flopped to the floor and didn't move. Mal and Jayne made sure the airlocks were shut tight before getting to the bridge as fast as they could. Mal pounded on the locked door.

"Go, Wash!" he shouted. _Serenity's _engines whirred loudly before the firefly disconnected from the wreck and burned back towards civilization.

It had been a day and a half since the wreck. The Reavers hadn't followed them back to the boarder, they were more interested in what the broken down ship had to offer. Mal got Badger on the vid screen and tried to explain to him why he didn't have anything to bring back to Persephone.

"Can't say I'm entirely thrilled with your performance this time, Captain Reynolds," Badger said in his strong east-end accent.

"Can't say I am either," Mal said. "I got one of my crew still injured and now I gotta purchase some fuel cells that I don't have the money to pay for."

"It's a shame how these things work out from time to time," Badger said with a sarcastic grin. "I don't got no goods, you don't got your money. Don't suppose I'll be calling you anytime soon."

"I don't expect to hear from you," Mal responded solemnly. Badger disconnected and Mal was left alone at the bridge, poor again.

Bridget slowly felt her mind swim back into consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized that she was in the med bay. The bright lights bothered her eyes and she had to squint against them. She tried to get up but pain exploded in her shoulder. She groaned painfully and sank back down into the padded examination table. She hadn't noticed until she tried to sit up that she wasn't alone. Jayne was in a chair next to her, slumped over and asleep. Maybe it was some kind of drug Simon had given her, or maybe she'd finally lost it. Whatever the case, at that moment she was filled with a sort of fondness she'd never really had for anyone else before.

"Hey," she called softly. Jayne jerked awake.

"I was only dozin'…," he muttered. Bridget chuckled at him. "Hey, you're awake."

"Yeah," she said with a smile. He got to his feet and towered over her with a relieved little smirk. "I got shot, didn't I?"

"Yeah," he replied. "We were all pretty worried,"

"What happened?" she asked.

"Turns out that wreck was hit by pirates before we even got there," Jayne said. Bridget snorted.

"Pirates?" she asked with a sleepy arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, pirates," Jayne said, getting a little defensive.

"Wasn't aware they existed for real. Can't say that I've ever run into one," she said.

"Well now you have, that fella that shot you was one of 'em. 'Pearently got left behind. Shot up the whole boat," Jayne said.

"Wow," Bridget laughed softly, "I got shot by a space pirate."

"I got the son of a bitch good for ya, though."

"You seem to have a knack for that," said Bridget. She reached over and gently grasped the mercenary's hand. His eyes shifted from their joined hands to her face.

"What's this?" he asked cautiously.

"Whaddya think it is?" she asked with a smile.

"I thought…well, it's just that last time you were drunk, and-,"

"Well I ain't drunk now," Bridget said. "Despite the fact that you're more'n a little rough around the edges, somethin' about you has grown on me, Jayne Cobb. Don't know how or what for, but I can't stop it now that it's goin'."

"So I don't gotta try to be nice to Simon fer you to give me a chance?" asked Jayne with a grin.

"No, you can fight and bicker with Simon all you want," Bridget said.

"Good. 'Cause I wasn't really gonna give that up," he said.

"I didn't really expect you to," Bridget giggled. Her laughing started to jar her stitches and her shoulder pained her again. She winced something terrible.

"Maybe you shouldn't move too much," Jayne said.

"I'm startin' to think that's a good idea," Bridget agreed. "Thanks for being here."

"My pleasure, Miss Bridget," he grinned.

"After I'm all healed up, maybe we'll see about gettin that room…," she said as flirtatiously as she could (which wasn't very effective since she was half asleep and recovering from a gunshot wound.)

"Now you're talkin' my language," Jayne said gruffly. "I won't forget about that one." He boldly leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Get some sleep, missy."

"I'll give it a try," she answered. "How about we keep this…whatever this is under the radar. I kinda don't want Mal to know."

"He already does, but if you still wanna be quiet about it, I could probably manage that," Jayne said.

"Oh well. I guess it was bound to happen sometime," she sighed.

"Yeah…Rest easy, alright?" he said.

"Sure. I'll be back to cookin' before you can say _ni ta ma de tian xia sou you de ren dou gai si_..." Jayne chuckled at Bridget's coarse choice of words. She let go of his hand as he pulled away from her. "G'night."

"Night," he said. He gave her one last affectionate smirk before leaving the infirmary. Bridget closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep with a pleasant smile on her face.

_Fin_.

_Author's note: Huzzah for blossoming romance. Feedback is appreciated! _


	5. Ep 17: Mug Shot part 1

_Author's Note: Well, well, I'm back. My goodness, these last few weeks have been hectic, what with school and papers and tests and writer's block, yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, I hope this is well worth the wait. My friend that's been reading the chapters before I post seems to think that it's worthy, so here it is: the next installment. Enjoy!_

_PS: If anyone knows how to separate different parts of the story, like time lapses and whatnot, in such a way that doesn't delete it when you upload the document (like asterisks and underscores between paragraphs) I would very much like to know how. I feel like my story has flow issues because of it. _

**Three years ago….**

_Thump. _Bridget's heart raced and her eyes were fixed on the door. There was no way out. _Thump_. She and her parents sat hunkered down in their one room house. _Thump_. They were breaking the door down. Any second, they were almost in. _Crack!_ The wooden door jam splintered and four feds barged in and pointed guns at the three of them. Bridget was paralyzed with fear.

"Joseph and Marion Li, you are under arrest," the one in front said. Bridget looked at her parents in horror. Both of their faces were dead serious, neither looked scared.

"We're not going anywhere," said Bridget's father as he stood up to face the feds. Her mother stood up next to her husband.

"Back down or we'll fire," said the fed.

"Killing us won't stop the Independence," said Bridget's father solemnly. In one swift movement, he grabbed a handgun out from its hiding place in the waist of his pants and shot two of the feds, including the one that had first spoken to them. Bridget watched them crumple to the floor dead. Not a second later, more shots rang out and both her parents fell. Bridget waited for them to make a sound or a move, but they were still as stone.

The two remaining feds looked down at Bridget, who was just sitting there trembling.

"Get up, girl," said one of them. All she could do was stare at them blankly. "_Now_." Bridget slowly got to her feet, her knees shaking tremendously. "Bridget Li?"

"Huh?" she stammered.

"You are no longer welcomed on Persephone. Should you return, you will be subject to arrest," he said, glaring at her.

"But-," she began to say.

"Do I make myself clear?" he practically shouted.

"Yessir," Bridget muttered, still stunned and very, very confused. She looked down at her parents, lying on the floor in their own blood. She could hardly fathom that they were gone. She stumbled around the room and grabbed her old patched up corduroy bag and began stuffing the few belongings that she had in it. Bridget had never felt this lost or stunned or confused in her whole life. She felt like crying and screaming and sitting down to die all at once.

"You are to come with us to be escorted off world," the fed told her. "Any attempts to resist or escape and we will fire." Bridget gave a very delayed nod.

The two feds marched her out of her home in the slums of Persephone and herded her into a shuttle that was parked right outside.

_Take my love, take my land__  
__Take me where I cannot stand__  
__I don't care, I'm still free__  
__You can't take the sky from me__  
__Take me out to the black__  
__Tell them I ain't comin' back__  
__Burn the land and boil the sea__  
__You can't take the sky from me__  
__There's no place I can be__  
__Since I found Serenity__  
__But you can't take the sky from me..._

_Episode 17_

_**Mug Shot**_

Bridget's eyes snapped open. It was dark in her bunk, pitch black. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 2:00am. She'd only been asleep for an hour and already her slumber was being assaulted by the demons of her past. She wiped the beads of sweat and clinging hair from her forehead and sat up in bed. Her heart skipped a beat and her blood ran cold: there was someone standing right beside her bed. Bridget let out a shriek and flew out of bed in the opposite direction. She hit the wall and crumpled against it, breathing hard.

The light suddenly flipped on, illuminating the frame of River Tam. With a revolver. Bridget's eyes widened in fear and she gave a little gasp. River slowly pointed the weapon right between Bridget's eyes from across the room.

"Bang!" River said as she pulled the trigger. Bridget cried out again, throwing her arms over her head, and waited for the pain to come…but it never did. She opened her eyes slowly and found River right next to her, the gun still held firmly in her hand. She squatted down next to the terrified cook and let out a playful giggle. "You're it." She gave Bridget a quick kiss on the cheek before dropping the gun and walking out of the room as if nothing had happened.

For a moment, Bridget was frozen with fear. Finally, when she got back her nerve, she picked up the gun with shaking hands and popped open the cylinder. She dumped five long bullets into a trembling palm and felt her heart in her throat. River was crazy. Insane. Had there been a sixth bullet in the chamber, Bridget would probably be dead.

Taking the unloaded gun with her, Bridget ran upstairs to the crew bunks. She knocked on the heavy metal door of Jayne's quarters between the ladder rungs, but there was no answer. She grabbed one of the rungs and pushed on the door, which gave in and connected with the ladder below it. Bridget descended down into Jayne's bunk and flipped on the light.

"Jayne," Bridget said in a normal voice. The mercenary just groaned and rolled over. "Jayne!" she almost shouted.

"Wha- What're you doin', girl?" he demanded groggily.

"Oh, nothin', just nearly getting shot in my sleep," Bridget said sarcastically. She was on the verge of terrified tears.

"What?" he asked, looking up at her and squinting at the light.

"River snuck into my bunk with a loaded gun and nearly shot me," Bridget said her voice trembling. "Is this yours?"

"Hell no, that's Mal's," Jayne said, throwing the blanket off of himself and sitting up. She thrust the revolver at him along with the handful of bullets. He counted the bullets in his head and realized what had happened. "Damn, she really coulda killed you."

"She acted like it was a game," Bridget said shakily. "Like nothin' bad would come of playin' with a gun…s-she pulled the gorram trigger and everything…"

"I am sick of this wacky shit," Jayne growled. He hoisted himself outta bed and stormed past Bridget. He climbed up the ladder, his love interest at his heels. He stormed towards the stairwell that lead down to the passenger bunks. Bridget paused when she figured out where he was headed.

"Jayne, where're you going? Shouldn't we get Mal?" she asked, confused.

"Gotta settle this," Jayne muttered. Bridget winced and hurried off after him.

"Jayne, Mal's the Captain, he'll know what to do," she insisted.

"Hell, I ain't the Captain and I know what to do," he said loudly. He stormed directly into Simons room, flipped on the light and literally threw Simon out of bed.

"Jayne!" cried Bridget, horrified of the ensuing violence.

"What the hell are you doing!" yelled Simon.

"You keep your gorram crazy sister in her bunk at night!" Jayne shouted angrily.

"What are you talking about?" asked the very disoriented doctor.

"That sister of yours stole one of Mal's guns and sunk into Bridget's room just now. Nearly shot her," Jayne said.

"What?" Simon cried, looking very concerned.

"Yeah. So you better keep her locked up at night, or I ain't responsible for what I do to 'er!" Jayne growled, sticking a finger in Simon's face before storming out of the room. Bridget stood in the doorway, completely stunned.

"S-Simon-," she started to say. "Simon, I didn't mean for him to…I just got scared, he was the first person I though to tell, I didn't know he was gonna get violent…"

"Being quite literally thrown out of bed wasn't how I was expecting to wake up, but I'm alright," Simon said, picking himself up off the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I shoulda come got you first," Bridget said.

"I should be the one apologizing," Simon said. "I'm supposed to be keeping tabs on River, but sometimes…sometimes she's difficult to, you know…keep tabs on."

"I understand," Bridget said. "She just…she acted like it was a game. She must've known that there was no bullet in that chamber, or something…she just pointed it at me, said 'Bang' and then came over to me, laid it down by me and said 'You're it.' It was…disturbin', to say the least."

"Wow," Simon muttered. "I've been trying so hard to find some kind of drug to regulate her…destructive behavior, but we just haven't found it yet." Bridget nodded.

"It's just that I been shot enough for one week. That's all," she said.

"Completely understandable," Simon said.

"Maybe you wanna find her 'fore she decides to play tricks on someone else," Bridget said.

"Probably a good idea," Simon agreed, looking disturbed his own self.

"I'd come along, but I got a piece of my mind that's itchin' to be given away," she said. Bridget hurried upstairs and practically jumped down the ladder of Jayne's bunk. He'd turned the light back off and was already snoring.

"Jayne, I know you ain't asleep that fast," Bridget said angrily.

"Uhn….," he groaned. Bridget pursed her lips and flipped on the light. She seized his blanked and yanked it off of him.

"Get your gorram ass outta bed, you xiong meng de kuang ren!" she cried.

"What'n the 'verse do you think yer doin'?" Jayne growled, standing up and towering over Bridget's slight Asian frame.

"You can't just go knockin' our friends around!" Bridget said, staring at him sternly.

"Maybe you forgot that one of your 'friends' nearly killed you not ten minutes ago!" Jayne shouted in his defense.

"Well, it weren't Simon that done it, weren't no need to go'n chuck him outta bed!" Bridget said. "Just 'cause you got some issues with him don't mean you need to bash him all up."

"If you like him so much, why don't you go after him instead'a me?" Jayne shot back.

"'Cause he ain't my type Jayne, and I respect my friendship with Kaylee too much to do somethin' so stupid," Bridget said. "That's called bein' socially acceptable, maybe you should try it."

"Well, hell, Bridge, maybe you shouldn't come get me when things go wrong so's I won't go and try to defend you," Jayne said, throwing up his arms.

"I want you to defend me, but not like that," Bridget said, her voice dropping down to its normal volume. Frustration burned in her teary eyes. "Dammit, Jayne, if you just woulda gone and got Mal-"

"He wouldn't be pokin' his head in here wonderin' what all the damn fuss is about," Mal said angrily from above. "Mind informing what exactly the fuss is?"

"Simon's crazy-ass sister got hold of one of yer lame old guns and nearly shot Bridget tonight like it was some crazy-ass game," Jayne said as the Captain descended into Jayne's bunk, his brow furrowed. He was angry for two reasons: one, he was roused outta bed at two in the morning by yelling and two, River had gotten hold of a gun. Again.

"You got anything to add, Miss Bridget?" Mal asked.

"Only that I regret not comin' to you first. That way at least Simon wouldn't have been woke up so rudely," she said, staring at Jayne.

"You probably shoulda," Mal agreed. "But for now we got a serious situation on our hands. This is the third time that girl's got a hold of a gun, and I don't care to think about the consequences that could bring. So, Bridget, I want you to go back to your bunk…"

"No," Bridget said firmly.

"Sorry, what was that?" asked Mal.

"No, sir," she corrected herself.

"When did you start disobeyin', Miss Bridget?" asked Mal, thoroughly surprised.

"I'm sorry. Alls I meant was I don't wanna go back down there alone. Fact, I don't know if I much wanna sleep across the hall from her no more," Bridget said. "I mean, we don't even know where she is right now. Hell, she could come back…"

"Fine, here's what we'll do: just for tonight, you sleep in your own bed. Tomorrow you can move your stuff into the empty bunk down the way, the one next to Wash and Zoë's. Wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable in your own room."

"Thank you, sir," Bridget said gratefully.

"Jayne, why don't you keep Bridget company downstairs?" Mal suggested.

"Why don't she just stay here with me?" asked Jayne. Mal gave him a stern look. "Nothin' funny, Cap, but we're already here."

"It's fine with me," Bridget said. "I kinda just wanna stay away…"

"I got your word you'll stay put while we find her?" Mal asked seriously.

"Yessir," Bridget said.

"Alright. Just make sure you don't go noplace," Mal said before he climbed the ladder out of Jayne's bunk. There was a loud clunk as the door above was shut.

"Well, now we got that room we was talkin' about," Jayne said with a little grin.

"You know, there's somethin' about nearly dyin' that totally kills any kinda mood," Bridget said, plopping down on Jayne's bed.

"You mad at me or some such?" Jayne asked her.

"Not mad, just…frustrated," Bridget said. "I wish you'd listen to me when I talk to you."

"I do," Jayne said.

"No you don't," Bridget insisted. "You didn't listen when I said to get Mal. You were just lookin' for an excuse to take yer anger out on someone, and it ain't right."

"May not be right, but that's how I am," Jayne said gruffly, practically throwing himself down on his mattress, which squeaked loudly under his bulk.

"Doesn't have to be. It is possible to think everything through before you go and do the first thing that pops into your head," she said.

"No one's perfect, Bridge, can't hold that against me," he said to her. There was a moment's silence in which Bridget stared at the floor, her hands folded and her ankles crossed neatly. "It's kinda late," Jayne said. "And you look like you could use some sleep."

"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to sleep after all this," Bridget replied.

"Well, in any case, you can either take the floor or get under this blanket with me, 'cause I ain't givin' up the bed," Jayne said.

"Oh, how very gentlemanly of you," Bridget said, rolling her eyes.

"Weren't tryin' to be gentlemanly. I wouldn't mind you asleep next to me, but if you're not comfortable with that, feel free to spend a cold hard night on the floor," Jayne said, stretching out on the bed and rolling over.

"You are such a hun dan," Bridget muttered as she scooted up next to the mercenary. "Ain't no way I'm sleepin' on that dirty floor."

"That's what I thought you'd say," Jayne said with a smirk. He reached out and shut the light off before wrapping a very muscular arm around Bridget.

The next day, Bridget avoided all communications and contact with River. She was downright scared of her and only got three hours of semi-decent sleep on account of her actions.

"Bridge?" asked Wash slowly as the cook began to nod off during dinner. "Bridget, you're falling asleep in your soup."

"Hmm?" she asked, jerking awake. "Oh, lao tian ye…."

"You okay?" asked Zoë with an arched eyebrow.

"No," grumbled Bridget. "I'm runnin' on three hours of sleep today, and it don't make me feel too spry."

"She can't sleep because her heart races and her eyes twitch and she's afraid of the dark," River said loudly all of a sudden, causing the whole room to go quiet. "Afraid a monster will come out of her closet and eat her up in the night, even though her mama told her monsters don't exist."

"River…," Simon said, trying to soothe his sister. Bridget suddenly felt her skin prickle with goosebumps.

"Pointed teeth and pointed nails and scales for skin…," River babbled, becoming more upset. "All hiding underneath a porcelain doll exterior, nothing but clay and paint keeping it in…but she can see it breaking and cracking when she closes her eyes to sleep, the backs of her eyelids…she sees it and she hears it and it makes her afraid." Bridget stood up and left the table, hardly having touched her meal.

"See, now look what you gone and done," Jayne said to River, who seemed as though she were about to cry. "Look what you did to her."

"Jayne!" Kaylee cried, shaking her head at him.

"What?" he asked with a shrug.

Bridget sat huddled in Jayne's bunk, wrapped in his blanket and trying her best to shake the chills she had. She'd never had a problem with River before, but the night before had severely tainted her relationship with the teenager. Bridget didn't see how she could ever look at River the same again. The girl wasn't right.

"You down here?" asked Jayne.

"Mmhmm," Bridget responded. Jayne climbed down the ladder. There was almost a look of concern on his face.

"You gonna be okay, Bridge?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I really don't. It's very unsettling to be on good terms one day and having a loaded gun pointed at your head the next. I mean, I been shot once already this week, and I ain't too excited about the notion of repeating that particular moment in time. Especially if repeating it means getting my brains blowed out."

"Well they ain't blowed out, so it's time to get over it," Jayne said.

"My, how very compassionate you are," Bridget said sarcastically.

"It ain't that I don't care. There's a time after somethin' like that where you just gotta move on," Jayne said. "That's just the way it works. I've had guns pointed at my head plenty of times. I don't like it one bit, but I got myself over it."

"Some of us aren't mercenaries, Jayne," Bridget said quietly. "Some of us are cooks who don't expect to be killed in their own bunks."

"Well, traveling with us, maybe you should come to expect it," Jayne said with a shrug.

"Fine, maybe I will," Bridget muttered in an irritated way.

"Don't get all sulky on me," Jayne said impatiently. "Like I said, it ain't that I don't care."

"You're not acting like you care too much," Bridget said.

"Well, whaddya want? A hug? Sex?" asked Jayne.

"How on the-earth-that-was did you make the leap between a hug and sex?" Bridget wondered with a scoff. "Kinda on opposite ends of the spectrum, don't you think?"

"See, that's the problem I got with women-folk. Can't never tell what they want or how they want it or when they want it," Jayne grumbled.

"Hey, I thought you wanted this whole relationship thing. Wasn't that your idea?" Bridget asked.

"Yeah, but…"

"'Yeah but' what, Jayne? Yeah, but you weren't planning on respecting my feelings? Yeah, but you didn't know it would be this 'hard' after only a week? Yeah, but all you wanted out of me in the first place was sex?"

"You know that ain't true," Jayne said angrily.

"Do I?" Bridget asked.

"Well…you should…," Jayne stammered in his defense. "'Cause it ain't." Bridget sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really mean to make a fight outta this…it's probably the three hours of sleep talking," she said.

"Probably so," he agreed. "Sorry if I, you know…offended you."

"You know, it's come to my knowledge that 'sorry' wasn't part of your vocabulary 'till just recently," Bridget said with a little smile.

"I don't like it too much, but I guess it just has to be said sometimes," Jayne said. "It's 'socially acceptable'."

"Know what else is socially acceptable?" Bridget asked.

"What?"

"Not having naked girls all over your bunk when you've got a girlfriend," she said.

"That what you are to me?" Jayne asked with a little smirk.

"Well, I dunno, but in any case, I don't like 'em. They got bigger tits than me," she said with a smirk.

Mal had kicked Wash out of the bridge a couple weeks later so he could do some poking around on the Cortex. Every few weeks, he made sure that he knew exactly what was going on in regards to the search for the Tam siblings. River and Simon were still towards the top of the list for most wanted, but upon further investigation, he couldn't find anything alluding to their current whereabouts. That's what he liked to hear.

He idly scrolled through the mug shots and profiles of hardened criminals just for the hell of it. He always thought it a little ironic to see River and Simon, two harmless looking kids, amongst greasy murderers and the like. Of course, River did have that little psychotic streak…

Mal was about to disconnect from the Cortex when a disturbingly familiar face registered in his brain. Black hair done up into a bun with chopsticks. A pleasant, round Chinese face, though in the picture she looked terrified. Profile said she was about 5'9", 120 pounds. Bridget Li, Mal's cook, was on the Alliance's most wanted list.

"Hey, Miss Bridget," Mal said as he strode into the kitchen, seeming a little too happy for Bridget's liking.

"Hey, Cap…," she said slowly. "You seem awful cheerful today."

"Actually, I'm just trying to keep from screaming at you. I like you too much to scream at you," he said with a forced smile. He thrust a print-off at her. "Wanna explain that to me?" Bridget took the paper from him and her eyes widened.

"Oh, no…," she muttered. Her mind raced, trying to remember her and Kaylee's shopping trip. She'd tried to keep an eye out for feds, but apparently it hadn't done a bit of good. "Well, sit down, Mal, 'cause I got a pretty long story to tell you."

"I got lots of time," he said taking a seat at the dinner table. Bridget sat down as well and wondered where to begin.

"You know, when I ain't havin' nightmares about River comin' and killin' me in the night, I dream about this," she said, gesturing to the mug shot. "Two, maybe three times a week…Anyway, when I was younger, I lived with my aunt and uncle for a while because my parents were off fighting in the Unification war. They were Brown Coats, like you and Zoë. Anyway, after they came back, they were practically war heroes even though the Independence lost. They were different after that…always on edge, kinda suspicious. Acting like the war wasn't really over. They'd leave the house and not tell me where they were going, and then they'd come back maybe a couple days later."

"Ever ask where they were off to?" asked Mal.

"Always," Bridget said. "But I could never get a straight answer from them. I even looked through their stuff and there wasn't a damn scrap of evidence. Then about a year later, I find this newspaper and it's got a picture of them on the front page. Said something about a rebellion. Couldn't read much of it 'cause they came home panicked, you know, and told me to hide. I was so confused; I didn't know what the hell was going on. That night some feds came to our house to arrest my parents. My dad shot two of them and the feds that were left killed them both on the spot. Shot 'em dead in front of me. They escorted me off world and dumped me on Beaumonde with no money and no place to stay. Told me if I was to come back to Persephone, they'd arrest me."

"Guess that's the reason for all the traveling," Mal said.

"Yessir," Bridget replied.

"What I don't see a reason for is you not tellin' me this from the beginning," said Mal. "You promised not to cause trouble."

"I didn't mean to, Captain, I swear it," Bridget said frantically, fearing the worst: being chucked off the ship.

"And even if you never told us, the least you could do would be to stay on the ship while we're on Persephone," Mal said. "Instead you did what? You went shopping with Kaylee. Bought yourself some decorations for your gorram room. That seem a little idiotic to you?"

"Yessir," Bridget muttered, her cheeks reddening. "It was a bad decision." Mal ran a frustrated hand through his hair and heaved a sigh.

"Look, I ain't gonna kick you off," he said. "I'm just…really, really…angry. When you know something like this is happening, you gotta think it through. See, look, this part right here," said Mal, pointing to the print off. "'Suspect was last seen boarding a Firefly transport ship.' That's us, Bridge. If the feds catch up with us, they could arrest not just you but Simon and River too. And I know a few lawmen who would be just tickled to get a hold of me and everyone else on this ship. And I don't want no one arrested."

"Me neither, sir," said Bridget. "It was a mistake."

"Glad you're willing to admit that," said Mal. "The likelihood is that they didn't follow us or Wash would have noticed something. Probably they're just on the lookout for you; you ain't the Alliance's top priority. The problem is, though, is that makes you the third fugitive on this ship, and that don't settle particularly well with me."

"Understandable, sir," Bridget said with a nod.

"Still don't know what your folks did to get hunted down?" asked Mal.

"No, sir," said Bridget. "I wouldn't even know where to start looking. The closest thing I had to a clue was that newspaper article, but I only caught a glimpse of it," said Bridget.

"It was a rebellion, you said?" he asked.

"Yessir."

"There've been a lot of Independence rebellions over these last few years. Might'a been the Unification Day Rebellion. Sounds about right for the time, but I'll poke around the Cortex for some more definite answers," he said. "What were their names?"

"Joseph and Marion," answered Bridget.

"Alright. Now, I want you to know something, Miss Bridget," Mal said, looking her dead in the eyes. "You got somethin' you gotta tell us, something important like this, you do it." Bridget nodded. "It's real important you keep me updated on situations that involve me and my crew. And don't you ever forget you're part of it, alright?"

"I won't, sir. Thank you," Bridget said, more than a little relieved. "I never intended to get us into trouble."

"I know you didn't," said Mal with a half a smile. "We're always in some kind of trouble or other anyhow, I suppose this don't make much difference."

"Maybe," she said. "I think I'm gonna finish up these dishes and head for my bunk…I got some serious thinking to do."

"You do that," Mal said.

Inara had had it. It had been almost two months since Mal promised to drop her off at New Melbourne. She'd confronted him about it before, letting him know that she was very serious about leaving, but he always had some kind of excuse. This was the last time that she was going to tell him.

"You called, Miss?" he asked as he strode into her shuttle.

"Yes," she said calmly. "I need to discuss my leaving with you for the fifth time."

"Inara, I really don't need this right now," Mal said with a smile and a shake of his head.

"I don't care," she said. "When are you dropping me at New Melbourne?"

"I've told you this once, and I'll tell you again; when business takes us there," Mal said.

"And when do you suppose that'll be, Malcolm?" Inara asked, her temper flaring. "How many more jobs are you going to turn down just so you can avoid it?"

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Mal asked angrily.

"I think that's exactly what you're doing," she said curtly.

"Okay, how 'bout you explain to me why, just so we're on the same page," he said sarcastically, getting very irritated.

"Because you don't want me to leave!" Inara cried. Mal opened his mouth to protest but Inara started talking over him "You don't want me to go where the business is!"

"That…it ain't….," Mal sputtered angrily.

"Yes it is! That's exactly what it is! You hate that I'm a Companion!"

"Fine! I do! That's what you want to hear, right?" Mal burst out, throwing his hands in the air.

"No, it isn't!" Inara said. "For once, I wish you'd just be a man and get over it!"

"Well…I-I can't," Mal stammered. An uneasy silence fell over them. "I can't, Inara. I can't stand the thought of you-"

"With somebody else?" she offered. Mal felt the atmosphere become very awkward. The only thing he wanted to do was walk out on this conversation. Instead, he just stood with his lips pressed angrily together, staring at Inara with intense eyes.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "More or less."

"Why?" she asked.

"Gorrammit, do we have to talk about this now?" he cried. "I am having a really bad day, Inara, and this isn't helping!"

"Well, if we don't talk about this now, when will we?" she asked indignantly.

"Preferably never," he shot back.

"Maybe we never will," she said, he voice dropping back to a normal volume. "I am leaving, Mal, you can't stop me."

"I know," he said with a little nod. "I know that. I just…"

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin'," he said with a quick little smirk. He turned to leave.

"Mal," Inara called.

"What?" Mal sighed impatiently as he turned back around. Inara approached him slowly.

"It's unhealthy to keep things bottled up," she said. "Do me this last favor: whatever it is that you need to get out, tell me."

"Whaddyou want from me, Inara? D'you want me to break down and cry and proclaim some kinda undying love?" he asked sardonically. "'Cause it ain't gonna happen. And what about you? You always seem to have somethin' on your mind whenever we talk, so why don't you let it on out? I think it's safe to say that our honesty with each other is at an all time high today, so let's have it."

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked.

"Well…not really, but I figure we're on a roll," he said. "Spill." She fidgeted a little and bit her lip.

"You first."

"Alright," said Mal seriously. "Honestly? It makes me crazy that you're a Companion, inviting all sorts of men into your bed. It really does. And-," he stopped and ran a hand through his hair. "And we always get so close to…"

"To what?" she asked.

"Wanna let me finish?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Oh…go ahead," she stammered.

"Look," he sighed. "As much as I don't wanna talk about this, I think we're both well aware that things ought to have turned out different. A lot less professional, if you follow me."

"I suppose so," Inara said, trying to keep her cool, but failing. Her composed, delicate Companion façade was crumbling before Mal's eyes.

"And I guess now it's too late for all of that, since you're bent on leaving," he said.

"It is," she assured him, her voice trembling. "Much too late."

"And if that's true, then all I gotta say is I won't miss you," Mal said, his eyes steely. "'Cause you can't miss what you never had."

With that, Malcolm Reynolds excused himself from Inara's shuttle and marched up to the bridge to tell Wash to make a direct course for New Melbourne.


	6. Ep 17: Mug Shot part 2

Episode 17

_**Mug Shot**_

continued….

It was a sad day when Serenity touched down on the foggy, ocean dominated planet of New Melbourne. Kaylee had been in or close to tears all morning. Bridget was just sad that she couldn't have gotten to know Inara better. Mal hardly said a word the whole time.

"I'll miss you all very much," Inara said with a smile. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Inara," Kaylee said with a tearful smile. "Happy sex." Inara climbed into her shuttle and in less than a minute, it detached from the rest of Serenity and flew off towards new opportunities.

"That's it, then," Kaylee sniffled. "She's gone."

"It ain't like she's dead, little Kaylee," Mal told her. "We'll see her again."

"Think so, Captian?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, though his eyes looked doubtful.

"How long are we stickin' around, sir?" asked Zoë.

"Long enough to for our cook to get food shopping with the pittance we got lying around," he said grumpily. "Bridget, be quick."

"Sure, Captain," Bridget said.

"And bring someone with you," Mal said. "I want you back in under an hour, alright?"

"I'll be back before you can blink," she said with a smile. Bridget went up to her new bunk to get her purse and her coat. When she climbed back up into the main hallway, she ran into Jayne coming up out of his bunk as well.

"Hey," he said as he put a hideous orange, knitted hat on his head, complete with a pom-pom and a pair of tassels. Bridget tried her best to stifle a laugh. "What?" he asked, looking confused.

"That's a pretty impressive piece of head-wear you got there," Bridget said. "You steppin' into public with that?"

"My mother made it," he said defensively. "I think it makes me look intimidatin'."

"Uh huh…," Bridget said slowly.

"Figured I'd act as bodyguard for ya today," he said.

"I see…Well, come on, then. You can practice scaring the fishermen and seagulls with your intimidating hat while I shop."

Jayne didn't particularly want to go shopping. Hell, all he wanted to do was find a pub. They'd run outta booze a long time ago, and he was itchin' to get hisself drunk. But he figured he oughta spend some time with Bridget. Zoë told him that's what you do in a relationship: spend time together. Lots of it. He didn't really mind as much as he feared he would. He had a kind of fierce fondness for Bridget, even if he wasn't too good at lettin' her know very smooth-like.

"What're we getting?" he asked as they weaved.

"I dunno, maybe some seafood," she said. "You like seafood?"

"I like food," he said with a shrug. "I'll eat whatever you make."

"That's a good boy," she said with a nod and a smile.

"Can we get some liquor?" he asked hopefully.

"If we've got some leftover money," she said. "If you haven't noticed, we're runnin' a little low these days."

"There's always money for liquor," he said. "Plus, I gotta get you drunk again so I can steal another kiss."

"Hey, any kiss you get from now on will be given to you," said Bridget in an amused voice.

"Well, why don't you give me one so I can stop complainin'?" he asked.

"I've kissed you since then," she reminded him as they headed toward the farmer's market that was situated on a pier.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "Once."

"Didn't appreciate it?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I did, I'm just sayin'…Once," he said.

"What's the rush?" she asked him.

"Well, a man's got wants and needs to be catered to," he told her.

"That so?" she asked playfully.

"Yep," he replied. Bridget stopped abruptly on the pier, causing several bundled up denizens to have to dodge her.

"Well, guess what? Woman's got some similar wants and needs," she told him with a coy smile. "So maybe don't wait for me to kiss you next time."

"Is that the way we're playin' it now?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm thinkin' so," she said, planting her hands on her hips. He bent down to kiss her but she brushed past him and continued on toward the market.

"Hey, now," he said, jogging after her. "That weren't entirely fair."

"Life ain't entirely fair," she reminded him. "I like to keep public displays of affection at a minimum, especially with someone wearing a hat like yours."

"How 'bout you give it a try, then?" he asked, stopping her with his hand on her shoulder. He plucked the chopsticks out of her hair, which fell down to her chest, and crammed the hat onto her head. She looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"This the way you treat all the women you associate with?" she asked flatly.

"No. I tease the ones I like best," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah?" Bridget asked, yanking the hat off her head and tossing it back to him. "Me too." She grabbed his hand and led him down the pier. C'mon, Mr. Intimidatin', we got food to buy."

In all of Bridget's wildest dreams, she never suspected being closely watched by a pair of Alliance officials while she drug Jayne around from vendor to vendor, especially when they were so far from Persephone. However, they'd been tipped off that there was a Firefly class transport ship present ever since it hit atmo. All they were waiting for now was a facial confirmation, but they couldn't get that until she turned around or came closer to them. It wasn't hard to keep an eye on their target. After all, the man she was with was enormous and was wearing a ridiculous orange hat.

"Who knew there'd be nice lookin' vegetables on a planet like New Melbourne?" Bridget mused happily a half an hour later as she and Jayne weaved their way off the pier. "We'll have shrimp stir fry tonight."

"Sounds good," said Jayne. Out of the corner of his eye, Jayne saw a flash of purple. He turned around and realized that they were being closely followed by two feds. "Gou shi!" he cursed.

"What's wrong?" asked Bridget.

"We got company!" he said before taking her hand and dashing through the crowd of people.

"Stop! You're under arrest!" cried one of the officials, breaking into a run after them. Bridget looked back and saw the feds and yelped.

"Shit!" she cried, running faster to keep up with Jayne's pace.

"You, with the orange hat! Stop!" shouted one of the feds.

"Hat off!" cried Bridget. "Take it off!" Jayne snatched the hat off his head and stuffed all that would fit into his pocket. Bridget heard the low frequency_ whumph_ of a Sonic Rifle behind her and saw an innocent bystander crumple to the ground behind them. If they hit her with that, she'd be knocked out for hours, not to mention caught and arrested. Suddenly, the plastic grocery bag she was clutching shuddered. The last shot had gone right through it, missing her by inches.

"Faster, Jayne!" she cried, her heart racing.

"Get yer head down!" he shouted at her. Bridget ducked just as Jayne fired one of his handguns over his shoulder, hitting one of the feds in the arm. Pandemonium broke out as the officer's rifle clattered to the ground. The crowded sidewalk writhed with people trying to get out of Jayne's way. The two of them dashed up the sloping street to where Wash had Serenity parked. Mal and Kaylee sat in a couple lawn chairs outside the lowered ramp having what looked like a decent conversation while they waited for Bridget and Jayne to get back. When Mal saw them and who was after them he nearly fell out of his chair.

"What'd you do?" he cried as Jayne and Bridget dashed up the ramp and into the ship. Mal chucked the lawn chairs into the airlock and hauled Kaylee back inside. He pounded the button on the panel inside the airlock, which closed up the ramp. He hit the nearest intercom button.

"Wash, we got everyone on board?" Mal practically yelled.

"Yes sir," said Wash.

"Then get us in the air! We got feds!" Mal shouted at him. A moment or two later, Wash had _Serenity_ rising through the atmosphere of New Melbourne.

Jayne practically drug Bridget up to his bunk, just trying to get her as far away from the cargo bay as possible. Her arm ached from being pulled along, but she was so panic-stricken that she hardly noticed or cared. The two of them jumped down the ladder. Jayne shut the door and turned around to see Bridget huddled on his unkempt bed, clutching at a bruised arm. It took a moment for him to realize that those bruises were about the same size and shape of his own fingers.

"_Ta ma de_!" Jayne cursed angrily through gritted teeth as he made his way over to Bridget, who was now in tears. He plopped down next to her on his bed. "Shh, quiet, now," he said gruffly, wiping a tear away from one of her cheeks with his thumb. "We got away."

"They're following us," Bridget said, looking Jayne in the eyes. "I know it."

"If they are, we'll outrun 'em," he said. Bridget shook her head.

"I was so happy to finally have a home…," she whispered.

"Don't you talk like that," Jayne told her, holding her round face in his hands as gently as he could. "I won't let 'em have you." He looked down at her bruised arm. "Ruttin' hell…I didn't mean to do that to you, Bridge."

"It's ok," she said in a voice that was barely audible.

"I'd never bruise a woman up on purpose," he said. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," she said with a nod. "What're we gonna do?"

"I dunno," he said. "Prolly just stay here 'till they find us, then I'll blast the hell out of 'em."

"Maybe I'll just go quietly," Bridget said sounding distant.

"I hate to say it, but it's too late for that now, darlin', you already ran from 'em," Jayne said with smirk that was meant to be comforting. "Didn't yer mama ever tell ya not to run from the man?"

"Least I didn't shoot nobody," she said with a shadow of a smile. "Guess they might have a mind to arrest you, too."

"They might have a mind to arrest everyone on this gorram boat," Jayne said. "There ain't a one of us that hasn't done somethin' illegal."

"'Cept for maybe the preacher," Bridget mused.

"Jayne, I need you in the cargo bay," Mal's voice said through the intercom in Jayne's bunk.

"This ain't really a good time, Cap," Jayne said in an annoyed voice.

"Don't make me come up there, Jayne, I ain't in the mood," Mal warned. Jayne rolled his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do with Bridget? Just leave her here?" he asked angrily.

"Bring her down here," said Mal. "We have to talk." Mal's head ached something awful. Wash had just reported that there was an Alliance ship behind them that was ordering for them to stop. The sound of feet coming down the stairs alerted him to Jayne and Bridget's presence. "Come on, now, we don't have a lot of time."

"What's goin' on, Mal?" Jayne asked.

"We got feds behind us demanding entry," said Mal. "That's what's going on. And frankly, I don't have a plan."

"Well I'll tell you what we ain't gonna do-," Jayne began to say.

"I'll go," Bridget said. Jayne looked at her with serious eyes.

"Oh, no you won't," he countered.

"Don't boss me, Jayne," Bridget told him sternly. "I made the Captain a promise, and that was to not cause a ruckus. Well, I have. I'm putting everyone else in danger, and it ain't right. I'll cooperate and go with them without a fuss."

"That's not really what I had in mind for a potential plan…," Mal said.

"Can you think of something better?" Bridget asked. "'Cause the longer you make Wash wait to stop, the more trouble we're in. Maybe if I go nicely, they won't take any of you."

"Well, they're liable to anyway," Mal said. "There's not chance of runnin', they're already on top of us. Probably they'll arrest you and Jayne, maybe me 'cause I'm the Captain. Be that the case, I'm leaving it up to you, Zoë, to bust us the hell out."

"How, sir?" she asked.

"You'll have to figure that out yourself 'cause I don't have a ruttin' clue," Mal said. "Simon, I want you and your sister out of sight. No use in having you arrested too. Chances are they aren't lookin' for you anyhow."

"When aren't they looking for us?" Simon said with a scoff.

"Just get someplace outta the way and keep your sister under control, _dong ma_?" Mal ordered.

"Come on, River, we have t-," Simon began to say as he turned around, but he stopped short. She was gone. Just a moment earlier, she'd been right beside him, and now she was gone. "She…Did anyone see…?" he stammered.

"This is a hell of a time for her to up and disappear, Doc," Mal growled.

"She was right here," Simon said, gesturing to the spot where River used to be with a baffled look on his face. How could she have slipped away without him or anyone else seeing?

"There ain't time for this. You get yourself hid and hope to whatever god you pray to that she stays lost," Mal said darkly. Simon hurried off to find a place to hide. "Wash?" he barked into the intercom.

"Yeah, boss?" Wash answered.

"Let 'em board," said Mal reluctantly.

"Er…but Captain, they-"

"Don't argue, just do it," Mal snapped with a sigh. A moment later, the tell-tale thump of the Alliance ship docking with _Serenity_ echoed through the cargo bay. Mal punched the button that caused the airlock to open and a group of six feds poured through it, guns drawn. Everyone held their hands up, including Wash who was coming down the stairs from the bridge.

"Drop any and all weapons you may have in your possession," one of them ordered. Mal unbuckled his holster and let it to clatter to the floor. Jayne and Zoë dropped their guns as well. "Bridget Li, you are under arrest for violating planetary restrictions that were spelled out to you in full thee years ago."

"Yessir," she muttered as one came forward and cuffed her hands behind her back.

"You," he said, pointing his gun at Jayne. "You are also under arrest for aiding and abetting a fugitive on the run as well as wounding a federal officer." two feds approached the massive mercenary carefully and began to cuff him.

"Gorram _wang bao dahn_ law-men…," Jayne grumbled impatiently as they wrenched his arms behind his back.

"Cuff him, as well," the fed told the remaining two as he pointed at Mal. "Captain Malcolm Reynolds, you are under arrest for knowingly harboring a fugitive of Persephone and persisting to run from officers of the law."

"Shiny," Mal muttered with a sarcastic smirk as they cuffed him. He was really, _really_ hoping they wouldn't arrest him too.

"The three of you are to come quietly. If you cooperate, you might be able to knock off a few years of your sentences," said the fed with a smirk. "But I doubt it. You, there. Pilot," he said addressing Wash, who responded with a nervous stare. "I suggest you get this ship as far away from here as possible. That is, if you don't want to appear any more suspicious than you already do." Wash nodded quickly. "You folks have yourselves a nice day," the fed said with a smirk.

The remaining members of _Serenity_'s crew watched the feds haul three of their friends away into the Alliance ship. The airlock closed and left them in the silent cargo bay.

"This is the part where we think up a wacky, mildly suicidal plan, isn't it?" Wash asked.

"That it is, dear," Zoë said with a fiercely serious face as she picked up her gun from the floor. "That it is."

The feds hauled the three of them into separate rooms where they were patted down and questioned. Bridget was scared half out of her mind, but she reminded herself over and over that Zoë and the others would rescue them. They'd find a way.

"So," said the cocky fed from before as he paced up and down the room. "Bridget Li: daughter of Joseph and Marion Li, the esteemed criminals of the independence." Bridget was mildly shocked. The way her parents told it, they'd come back heroes, not criminals. She had always assumed that the Alliance wanted them because they were the opposition. "Were you not _specifically_ asked to never come to Persephone again? Hmm?"

"Yessir," she answered. The fed stopped pacing and bent down so his face was close to hers.

"And why is that…?" he asked her patronizingly.

"I don't know," she answered in an annoyed voice.

"Wha…You don't _know_?" he parroted, obviously not expecting her answer.

"Did I stutter?" she asked him sarcastically.

"Well, then, let me enlighten you," said the officer. "Your parents were two of the Independence's best assassins. Or, as we like to refer to them, '_xiong meng de kuang ren_.'"

"That ain't true," Bridget growled, angered by the vulgar words used toward her parents.

"Sure as your boyfriend is stupid it's true," said the fed. "They had it coming to them as soon as they set up the Unification Day Rebellion. Knew it was over, judging by they way they scurried back to their little hovel. Caused millions of credits in damage, not to mention their little army stole everything they could get their grubby mitts on."

"You're wrong, they were good people," Bridget protested, getting angrier as he went on.

"They were scum!" he bellowed at her. "Insects that I'm sure whoever killed them was happy to exterminate." Bridget sat their both angry and upset. "You must have been living in some kind of hole not to know that."

"So how does that constitute banning me from Persephone?" she asked.

"You could have helped them. Maybe you were planning to continue their legacy. Who knows?" he said with a shrug. "It's better to kick someone off a planet for what they might do than to arrest them for something they haven't done yet."

"But I've already told you that I didn't know what was goin' on!" Bridget cried.

"You could be lying," he said simply.

"But I'm not! I'm not lying and I'm not a criminal!" she said.

"Now you are. The minute you set foot on Persephone you were a criminal," he said. "If there's a next time, you might try using whatever little brains you have before breaking the law." He stepped over to an intercom next to the door and pressed a button. "I'm finished questioning her."

"We'll send someone right away to transport her to the brig," a voice answered.

"Thank you," the fed replied.

Jayne sat impatiently on a little metal chair with his feet up on a long metal table. At the other end was an arrogant looking fed who just sat there staring at him.

"You gonna ask me somethin' or are we just gonna sit here?" Jayne asked.

"How long have you known that your little girlfriend is guilty of a war-related crime?" asked the fed.

"I dunno. Week or two, maybe," Jayne answered.

"And what do you think of that?" the officer asked.

"To be real honest, I think it's kinda sexy," Jayne said with a grin. The fed looked a little irritated.

"And being a man of your nature, I'm sure if you knew beforehand that there was a reward involved, it might have swayed your decision in helping her," the fed offered. Jayne thought for a minute.

"How big a reward?" he asked.

"A thousand credits."

"A _thousand_?"

"Mmhmm. I guess it's too bad you didn't know about that ahead of time. You might not even be here," the fed said with a smirk.

"Never said I woulda cooperated. Let me ask you somethin', officer," Jayne said in a mocking tone as he took his feet off the table and scooted closer. "Ever had a woman you didn't deserve?"

"Can't say that I have," the officer answered, wondering where all this was going.

"Well here's some news for ya: you ever find a woman you don't deserve, you sit her down and let her know what a ruttin' _fei fei de pi yan_ you are and she keeps you around anyway, you know you got somethin' you never wanna let go of. I've sold out business partners, hell, I've even sold out my friends when the money got too good. But I swear to God I'd never do that to her. 'Cause I don't deserve her, but she's what I got," Jayne told him. "I'd kill a man in less'n a blink for her. That little graze I gave that purple-belly weren't nothin' compared to what I'd do to keep her."

"Well, that's sweet," the fed said mockingly.

"I thought so," Jayne said in a sarcastic tone.

"It's too bad that you just gave yourself a minimum of 3 years," the officer told him. Three feds entered the room to escort Jayne to his holding cell. "A word of advice, Cobb, since you probably won't be seeing your girl anytime soon," the officer said as they were leading him out, "Don't drop the soap." Jayne grumbled a long string of curse words as they muscled him down the hall.

"Captain Malcolm Reynolds," said the fed that was questioning Mal. "I've heard a great deal about you. Seems you've got a little record going."

"Do I?" Mal answered with a fake smile.

"Don't play dumb, Mr. Reynolds," said the fed impatiently. "You're a petty black market thief and, from what I understand, not a very good one at that. And now I suppose you've graduated to harboring fugitives. Are you aware that that girl's parents started the Unification Day Rebellion?"

"Really?" Mal asked, genuinely astonished. "Honestly, that's impressive. I don't know anyone capable of something like that."

"Well, you know what they say: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," said the officer.

"I'm sure they do, but not about Bridget," Mal said. "She ain't got a violent or misbehavin' bone in her body."

"That doesn't mean a lot coming from you," the fed replied flatly. "She'll be tried, found guilty and incarcerated in Eavesdown's women's prison. A similar fate probably awaits you and your mercenary. I'm sure both of you have enough criminal activity under your belts to put you behind bars for a good long time."

"Probably so," Mal said. "But you oughta see sense and let Bridget go. She's done nothing but have her entire life ripped apart buy things she can't control. You can't help who your parents are or what they did. She's a victim, not a criminal."

"That's touching," the fed sneered. "But unfortunately, the world's not fair and rules are rules."

"That's one of the big things I don't like about the Alliance," Mal said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"There ain't a one of you with the decency to do right by your fellow human beings. Everything's just law and order to you. There's more to this world than rules."

"Maybe in your utopian Independent world. But here, law governs right and wrong. You and your friends have done some serious wrong in the eyes of the Alliance and no matter what kind of dogma you live by, you will be punished for your actions."

"How about we just rush in, guns blazing? Isn't that kind of our thing? Wash suggested as they sat around the bridge trying to think of a way to bust out Mal, Jayne and Bridget.

"Usually when we rush in like cowboys, someone gets hurt," Book reminded him.

"Isn't that part of our thing?" Wash wondered.

"Okay, people," Zoë sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. "We need to be real serious about this. It's likely that they'll put Bridget in a prison on Persephone since that's where she committed her crime."

"If you could call it a crime," Kaylee said dejectedly. She still felt at fault for badgering Bridget into coming with her to shop. "This is just about the worst day ever…'Nara's gone and now everyone's gettin' arrested."

"We've had worse days than this," Wash said.

"Like when?" Kaylee asked.

"Like when Mal and I got tortured by Niska," Wash answered. "Or when I got kicked in the head by Saffron, or when we ran out of gas and Zoë nearly died. Need I go on?"

"Guess you're right," Kaylee sighed. At that moment, Simon poked his head into the cockpit.

"I can't find her," he said, his breathing labored. "I can't find River."

Bridget was led down to the brig where she was practically shoved into a tiny cell. The automatic door slid shut behind the feds and sealed tight. Every surface in the cell was white, which reflected the overhead light so well that it was nearly blinding. There was a tiny round window in the door, out of which she could see Mal and Jayne being herded into similar cells. Bridget had never felt more hopeless in her entire life. Even when she first arrived on Baumonde, at least she knew that she had an opportunity to fix things for herself. She hoped to God that the others were on their way.

_Cells one, two and five already filled. One, two, five. One, two, five. / You'll need a card key for access. / He's huge, probably a mercenary. / I'd give anything in the 'verse to lay her down…_

River was having a more difficult time lately keeping everyone's thoughts out. Sometimes there was nothing, sometimes there was everything from everyone. Their thoughts were deafening. She wanted to scream, just to see if her voice could block it out. But she had to be quiet like a little spider in the air duct so no one would suspect. _One, two, five._ _Card key._ She saw light up ahead and realized that it was a vent. Below, she saw two feds standing guard with guns. _The wife's gonna kill me if I come home late again / Hurry up, guys…I want out…LET ME OUT!_ River stopped abruptly and clutched her head. Familiar thoughts. Scared. Anxious. She knew them. Who else? _They'll be sorry if they ever let me outta here…sorry and dead. / They'd better figure out a way to rescue us soon, I'm getting tired of this. _Bridget. Jayne. Mal. They were close. Maybe right underneath her.

"Rescue effort, trial one," River whispered before kicking the vent in, dropping to the floor below like a cat and knocking the two guards to the ground with a couple of graceful, well aimed kicks. _Card key for access._ She bent down and unhooked the card from one of the officers' belt before walking silently over to cell five. She peered inside and saw Bridget, sitting on the little bench that was connected to the wall, looking frightened.

Bridget chewed at her already short nails, wondering where exactly they were planning to take her. Just as she began to doubt that no one would come for her, she looked up and jumped half out of her skin. River Tam's seventeen-year-old face was staring in at her from the little window. When the initial shock wore off, Bridget leapt up.

"River!" she cried in relief. She hadn't been that happy to see the little fugitive…well, ever. River smiled excitedly at her and slid the card key though the slot. With a click and a hiss, the door slid open. "How'd you get in here?" Bridget whispered as soon as she emerged from the cell.

"Magic," River said with a smile.

"Where's everyone else?"

"No time," she answered. Bridget followed River over to cells one and two. They let Mal out first, then Jayne.

"Now what, Crazy?" Jayne asked River.

"Now we'll be cowboys," she said, taking off down the hall at a sprint. Mal, Jayne and Bridget exchanged puzzled expressions before running after her. Bridget brought up the rear, as she was the least athletic of the bunch.

River could hardly control herself anymore. She was flying like a kamikaze butterfly down the length of the ship's interior. Her mind was blessedly clear of outside interference. At least this way, she could get them to the emergency shuttles towards the front of the Short-range Enforcement Vessel. She looked behind her and realized that she'd lost the others.

"Hey!" cried a fed as she rushed past him. "Come back here!" Although he was out of normal earshot, she knew that he was calling for reinforcements. As he should. Everyone was going to need a lot of help.

She was almost to the shuttle when the narrow hall filled with feds. One of them tried to grab her, but she ducked and kicked his feet out from under him. He fell hard and hit his head on the wall. She spun gracefully as she rose to full height, catching another's jaw with her curled fist, sending him careening into one of the other officers.

At that moment, Mal, Jayne and Bridget caught up with her. None of them could see clearly what was going on in the middle of six feds so, naturally, they all assumed she needed their help.

Jayne grabbed two by the side of their faces and smashed their heads together. Both crumpled to the floor, no doubt suffering from some kind of concussion or other. Mal socked one in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs before punching him across the face. One caught Bridget from behind in a head lock. She struggled against him for a moment before jamming her elbow into his solar plexus. He wheezed and let her go. She turned around and bloodied his nose with a closed fist.

"Gah!" she cried as pain exploded in her fingers. It never occurred to her that punching someone would hurt so bad. She flexed her aching fingers and winced. The fed that she was attempting to fight got back up and was about to come after her again when River grabbed his neck from behind and applied an incredible amount of pressure to a spot at the base of the neck, causing him to pass out. Bridget stared disbelievingly at River, who had a blank, nearly mechanical look in her eyes for a split second. Her head jerked up as if she had just come back from zoning out and she smiled eerily at Bridget.

"It's time to go," she said as the last fed fell unconscious to the floor due to Jayne's fist. They followed River into the cramped confines of the emergency shuttle. Mal took the controls and after the little engine whirred to life, they disconnected with the Alliance ship. Mal flipped on the vid screen and attempted to contact Wash.

"We have to get this plan together _now_," Zoë said. "If we wait, they're just going to get further away, and I'm not going to let…"

"Hang on a sec, hon," Wash said, putting up a figure to quiet his wife, who looked more than a little annoyed by the gesture. The incessant _beep, beep, beep _of an incoming wave was irritating him. He pushed the receive button and a very familiar face came into view.

"Well, if it ain't my oh-so-helpful crew," Mal said sarcastically.

"Mal! Are you alright?" Wash asked.

"Maybe a little ruffed up, but we're alright," he said.

"Where are you? Is everyone with you? How'd you get out?" Wash asked.

"We're on an Alliance emergency shuttle, we should be coming up on you in a few minutes. Yes, everyone's here, including the youngest Tam sibling. I'll tell you the whole story when we get back, but for now, I want you and Kaylee to be ready to burn the hell out of here when we hit the airlock," Mal said.

"Will do, Captain," said Wash. Mal gave him half a grin before disconnecting.

"So much for our daring rescue attempt," Book said flatly.

"Hey, had we actually got around to deciding on anything, it would have been heroic. Maybe even epic," Wash said with a nod.

A few minutes later, Wash picked up the shuttle's signal on the radar. He told Kaylee to get ready to hard burn as the shuttle docked. As soon as the four of them were inside the airlock, Mal gave Wash the go-ahead. In a few seconds time, _Serenity _roared back into the depths of the 'verse, blasting the little shuttle to pieces and leaving New Melbourne far behind them.

There was a very enthusiastic reception in the cargo bay. Simon was particularly happy to see River.

"Where have you been, _mei mei_?" he asked, looking very concerned.

"Saving all our sorry asses. You got one brave sister, Doc," Mal told him. River was beaming.

"Thank you, River," Bridget said gratefully. "Truce, okay?"

"Okay," River said with a smile and a nod. Jayne grabbed Bridget by the waist and pulled her to him.

"You feelin' alright?" he asked her.

"Besides bein' bruised all over, sure," said Bridget. "Look, I punched a fed in the nose," she said with a smile, showing him the red and purple bruises on her fingers.

"That's my girl," he said.

"Oh, so now I'm _your_ girl? You own me, or somethin'?" she asked playfully.

"Don't flatter yerself," he teased.

"I see how it is," she said, crossing her arms and turning her back on him. In one, swift movement, he picked her up and draped her over his shoulder. Bridget screamed and giggled and beat her fists on his back.

"Let me down, gorramit!" she cried.

"Not a chance," Jayne told her as he held her kicking legs in place. "You promised me we'd get a room, and tonight I plan to bed ya."

"You do, do you?" Bridget scoffed. "What makes you think I'm gonna let you?"

"Darlin', you'll never wanna stop," he told her with a smirk.

"Doesn't leave much to the imagination, does he?" Wash said.

"Watch it, little man," Jayne said, pointing a finger at him. With that, Jayne started up the stairs to the upper portion of the ship.

"We'll be in his bunk," said Bridget through a laugh as she was being hauled away. Book smiled and shook his head.

"I never thought I'd live to see it, but it seems that Jayne's finally found someone that suits him," Book said with a baffled little shrug.

"It uncanny," Mal agreed.

"Now that we're all safe and sound, do I have permission, sir, to teach this irritating husband of mine a lesson?" Zoë asked Mal.

"Yeah, can she teach me a lesson?" Wash seconded hopefully.

"Don't be too hard on him," Mal said as Zoë grabbed Wash by the front of his Hawaiian print shirt and pulled him up the stairs. Wash looked back gave Mal a helpless little shrug. The Captain shook his head and smirked.

"So, Simon…would you like to keep me company while I watch over the engine?" Kaylee asked innocently.

"Oh, um…," Simon stammered. He looked at his sister, who smiled and gave a little nod. "Of course. It'd be my pleasure," he answered with a little grin. Kaylee beamed and took him by the hand before leading him up to the engine room.

"I think I'm going to revisit a few Bible passages before bed…," Book said in an awkward tone of voice.

"Aw c'mon, preacher, stick around a while so I don't have to think about what my crew's up to," Mal said.

"Hence the Bible passages," Book said flatly. "River can keep you company." The teenager looked up at Mal and smiled sweetly. "Just remember that special hell we've talked about in the past…" Mal's eyes got huge as he looked from River to Book.

"Wha...No, I can't even believe y-…You better get rid of that smutty mind! It ain't becoming of a preacher!" Mal said indignantly. Book drifted off towards his bunk with a satisfied and amused smile on his face, leaving Mal and River alone in the cargo bay.

"For all the trouble you cause me, you sure seem to come in handy," Mal told her. "I'm just glad to have everything back to relative normality."

"A place for everything and everything in its place," River recited.

"Well said, little one," Mal said with a nod. "You can be my co-pilot while Wash is…preoccupied."

"With intercourse?" River asked innocently.

"Yeah, let's not talk about stuff like that, okay?" Mal suggested as he and River ascended the stairs, leaving the cargo bay as it had been for several weeks: completely and utterly empty.

_Fin_

_Author's Note: So…? Reviews are always nice. _ _Thanks for sticking with it, you guys, it always makes my day._


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